


The Forest Of Memory

by stephaniebithell



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Amnesia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Human Plagg, Human Tikki, Intrigue, Kings & Queens, Mystery, Plot planned out in advance, Princes & Princesses, Romance, Royalty, Slow Burn, prince Adrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-09-12 15:25:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 30,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9078643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephaniebithell/pseuds/stephaniebithell
Summary: She needed to get out of here, she had lost her weapon and had sustained enough injuries that to stay and fight was certain death.Her arm hurt from where the sword had cut her as she ran from her attacker, ducking and weaving to avoid the flying arrows.  She was partially glad for the forest cover that helped her escape but that also led to the ambush that she had fallen into.A shout came from behind as she broke into a clearing, she looked around and saw that there was nowhere to hide before she was heavily thrown to the ground and a sword pointed at her throat.  She glared at the ruffian who dared to hurt her, knowing that if she showed any sign of weakness she would be dead in an instant.“Any last words?” he mocked as he raised his arm to swing the sword down and end her life.





	1. Prologue

She needed to get out of here, she had lost her weapon and had sustained enough injuries that to stay and fight was certain death.

Her arm hurt from where the sword had cut her as she ran from her attacker, ducking and weaving to avoid the flying arrows.  She was partially glad for the forest cover that helped her escape but that also led to the ambush that she had fallen into.

A shout came from behind as she broke into a clearing, she looked around and saw that there was nowhere to hide before she was heavily thrown to the ground and a sword pointed at her throat.  She glared at the ruffian who dared to hurt her, knowing that if she showed any sign of weakness she would be dead in an instant.

“Any last words?” he mocked as he raised his arm to swing the sword down and end her life.

She grinned up at him before slamming her heeled shoe into his groin, dropping him like a rock.  She scrambled up and snatched his sword before bolting again.  She came across a bridge over a small river, she scrambled down the bank before ducking underneath the brickwork and holding her breath. 

A few minutes later the sound of hoof beats clattered over the bridge and continued over the other side never stopping.  She let out a breath of relief and turned to run in the opposite direction when she felt a sharp pain in the side of her head.

As she fell face first in the water she heard a man laugh before calling to his comrades to ‘come back as the wench was finished.’  As she floated down the stream, all she can remember is the cold of the water and blackness.

 

Adrien was glad of his routine morning rides, it was his one chance each day to be alone and not have to adhere to all the rules and laws of his day to day life as the Crown Prince of Linburn.  It isn’t like he hated being a Prince but there were definitely some parts of his life that he could do without, including the strict schedule that his father, King Gabrielle, had handed down to him when he turned 18 and became the heir to the throne.

As he rode in the forest surrounding the castle walls, he closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the fresh breeze on his face.  He opened his eyes in shock when his horse reared suddenly, it took everything he had to hold on and not fall off in his surprise when he looked to see what had spooked his normally calm horse.  Lying on the bank of the river he was riding along was a woman, she wasn’t moving and he could see where the blood had soaked through her clothes staining them. 

As he cautiously approached the figure, he decided to dismount and tie his horse to a nearby tree, save the poor beast rearing again.  He drew his dagger from its sheath behind his back and slowly walked up to the woman.  Crouching down he grabbed one shoulder and rolled her over onto her back, a gasp escaped him as he took in her beauty.  Her eyes were closed but he could tell that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, her dark hair looked like it had been chopped with a blade as he had seen some soldiers do when it became too long, her dress while torn, tattered and bloodstained, was one of a noble woman’s and she seemed to be around his age.  He could see no obvious weapons on her and drew his attention back to her face before realising she was still breathing.

Surely she was a neighbouring Lord’s daughter who had been attacked by one of the bandit groups that were starting to pop up all over the kingdom but he hadn’t heard of one so close to the castle before.  He needed to talk to his father about increasing the patrols in the area and what the plan was to get rid of these pests once and for all.

But first he needed to get the girl back to the castle so she could be taken care of by the healers there.  As she seemed to cause no threat to him, he decided it would be easier and quicker for him to carry her back on his horse.  He put his dagger away before lifting her up and turning back towards his horse, praying that it wouldn’t shy away from the girl again.  Luck was on his side as the horse seemed to get over whatever issues it had had with her and allowed Adrien to place her sitting on his saddle before he mounted and reigned his horse towards the castle.

 

When he arrived back at the castle gates, the guards cried in shock when their Crown Prince rode in with an unconscious woman, before calling for the healers to come quickly.  Adrien clattered to a stop in the courtyard as his attendant Plagg and his best friend Nino, a Lord’s son, strode out to grab his horse and lift the girl out of the saddle.

“I found her in a river, she has lots of wounds and hasn’t woken up since I found her,” Adrien reported to the healers as they brought a stretcher out to take her away.

“Thank you, Highness, we will take it from here,” one of them replied as they carried her away towards the healing wing.

Adrien turned to his friends when he noticed something shiny attached to his saddle, he grabbed it and opened his hand to reveal a gold necklace, the clasp broken and the pendant snapped.  The pendant had some letters engraved on it.

_Mari-_


	2. Lost Memories

She felt like she was floating in nothingness, the blackness surrounded her and her limbs felt as heavy as lead.

 “How is she?”

“She is slowly regaining her health, Highness.  Her injuries are starting to heal but we are concerned that she hasn’t awoken yet.”

“Is there any reason for that?”

“She has sustained a nasty head injury, either during the attack or she struck it on something in the river I cannot say, but that combined with the hypothermia, partial drowning, multiple stab wounds, some cracked ribs and a multitude of other smaller injuries she should, in theory, be dead.”

“Hmmmm.”

Voices.  She could hear voices.  Who were they talking about?  Maybe if she opened her eyes, she could ask them who was so badly injured. 

She cracked her eyes open slightly, wincing at the brightness of the room, a whimper leapt from her mouth without her realising.

The people speaking stopped suddenly and turned to look at her as she slowly lifted herself to a sitting position, wincing in pain as her ribs twinged from the movement, looking around in confusion.  She was in a bed in what looked to be a healing room.  Why was she here?  She doesn’t remember being injured.

“Where am I?” she croaked out, her throat dry and sore.

“Here my Lady, drink this, it will help with the pain,” one of the healers said handing her a glass of clear liquid.

She nodded and took a sip, looking at the people who surrounded her bed.  There were 3 healers all of different ages and sexes, a young man with dark hair who looked to be an attendant, another young man who was dressed like a Lord’s son and the last who was standing directly at the end of her bed was a handsome young man who had sun kissed golden hair, emerald green eyes and a smile that lit the room.

“Pardon my rudeness, my Lady, may I have your name?” the golden haired man asked.

Her name?  What was her name?  “I-I confess I don’t remember,” she replied, looking apologetic.

“I found this when I brought you back to the castle, is it yours?” he pulled out the gold locket he had found on his saddle, handing it to her.

As she held it, she felt a familiarity to the object but shook her head, “I’m sorry, I cannot say if it is mine but it does seem familiar.  Who is Mari?”

“We think it may be part of your name, perhaps Marie?” he suggested.

“It does sound reasonable…..” she trailed off staring at the pendant.

After a few moments in silence, Plagg turned to Adrien, “Highness, it is time to go back to your lessons.”

“Highness?” Marie queried, her head snapping up in shock.

“Yes, you are in the presence of His Royal Highness, Adrien Agreste, Crown Prince of Linburn,” Plagg announced with a bit of pomp and circumstance and a smirk thrown in for good measure.

Marie just stared at Adrien before bowing as best she can in her seated position.  “I beg your pardon Highness for my state of undress and lack of respect,” she begged before looking confused.

“My Lady?  Are you ok?” Adrien asked quickly, stepping closer to her.

“Of course Highness.  It’s just that I don’t know how I remembered that is how to speak to a member of the Royal family,” she said softly.

“Perhaps your memory will return in time,” one of the healers suggested, finally speaking up.  “I believe in a few days you will be strong enough to move around and then you can speak with His Excellency, King Gabrielle, about where you can stay until we find out where you are from.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.  Now I must be off otherwise my tutor will hunt me down but may I come back and see you tomorrow Lady Marie?” Adrien said as he turned to leave.

“Of course you may, Highness,” Marie nodded with a smile.  She liked the idea of him coming back to see her.

“Until then, my Lady,” he said with a flourished bow and strode out with Plagg in tow.

 

A few days later, Marie woke to the sound of people talking nearby, as she opened her eyes she saw 2 women standing by her bed talking to each other.

“Good morning,” she said as she sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover her modesty.

“Good morning Lady Marie, I am Tikki and this is Lady Alya, we are here to assist you in getting ready to see the King,” the younger of the two said.  She had bright red hair and deep blue eyes, her dress indicated that she was a Lady’s maid or something of the sort.  Her companion, Lady Alya, nodded when her name was mentioned and she was dressed as a Lady of her station would, her auburn hair tied back in a tight bun and her green eyes shining through her glasses.

“I brought one of my dresses since you seem to be about my size and I figured you wouldn’t have anything appropriate to wear,” Lady Alya said with a smile.

“Thank you Lady Alya, Tikki, I appreciate the assistance and the dress,” Marie said as she climbed out of bed to start getting dressed.

 

Once all the layers of the dress, petticoat and corset were done up and her short hair had been trimmed to a more suitable style, Marie looked to Lady Alya and Tikki for directions on where to go.

“Just follow us, we will take you to see King Gabrielle,” Lady Alya said before striding off towards the middle of the castle.

Once they made their way through the castle, Marie was sure she would get lost if she had to navigate it by herself, the arrived at a large ornate set of doors.  The guard posted outside stood to attention, “Lady Alya, good morning, what are you doing here today?”

“Good morning Kim, I am here escorting Lady Marie to meet His Excellency,” Lady Alya explained, smiling to the young man, “Would you be a dear and announce us?”

Kim nodded, gestured for them to wait there as he slipped inside the doors.  A few moments later he opened the doors to reveal a large room, with a throne at the other side. 

“Presenting the Lady Alya and Lady Marie,” Kim announced loudly to the room as they walked in with Tikki in tow.

As they reached the throne on the other side of the room, Marie saw a regal looking man in what looked to be his early 40’s, a stern look on his face but not aggressively so.  The women curtsied to King Gabrielle as they reached the bottom of the short flight of stairs. 

As Marie looked up she was surprised to see Adrien, Plagg and another man standing to one side of the room, watching the interaction.  The King began to speak which drew her attention back to him as he rose from his throne.

“Good morning, I am King Gabrielle, the ruler of Linburn.  I have been informed by my son, Prince Adrien that you have lost your memories and seem to have been attacked within our borders.”

“Yes, your Excellency, I regret to say I have no memory of who I am or where I come from.  The only clue I have is my necklace which is broken, we believe my name is Marie from the inscription,” Marie explained, touching her necklace as she did.

“Well, since my son is under the belief that you are a Lady Noble, you will be addressed as such in my court which you are more than welcome to stay in until either your memories return or you chose to leave.  Tikki here will be your attendant for the duration and I have asked Lady Alya to be your consult to assist in any queries you may have and to navigate the social scenes as required,” King Gabrielle stated.

“Thank you, your Excellency, I truly appreciate your generosity.  I would be honoured to stay in your court until my memories return,” Marie said bowing slightly her hand over her heart.

“If that is all, I will take my leave,” King Gabrielle said as he walked away towards a door behind his throne.

Marie and all the others in the room all bowed and curtsied as he left.  Adrien and his friends moved over to greet the women.  “Well now that you are staying for a while Lady Marie, may I introduce myself properly.  I am Prince Adrien of Linburn, this is Lord Nino and my attendant and close friend, Plagg.  We are at your service my Lady and yours Lady Alya,” Adrien said bowing along with Lord Nino and Plagg.

“It is our pleasure, Highness,” Lady Alya replied curtsying along with Marie and Tikki.

“Adrien is fine when it is just us here, though of course I understand that in public official titles are normally used,” Adrien said smiling.

“Then you may call me Alya”

“And I Marie”

“Nino is fine for me as well”

“Well since we are all acquainted with each other may I interest you in a tour of the castle?” Adrien offered, holding out his hand.

“Of course Adrien, that would be wonderful,” Marie replied, taking his hand as they started to leave the throne room.

Marie couldn’t help but think this was just the start of a miraculous adventure that would change her life.


	3. Household Management

“Marie, I hope you don’t mind helping me while I take care of this today,” Alya said apologetically, as they walked into the kitchens with Tikki in tow.

“Of course I don’t Alya.  I feel bad that I can’t do anything productive at the moment due to my memory, so this is the least I can do to make up for it,” Marie replied smiling.  “So what is first?”

“Well, first we will inventory all the silverware and china, taking note of any damages or missing items.  Then we will head to inventory the fine linen and tapestries, before speaking with the Steward on the staffing situation.  Finally we will then go over the financial books and make sure that everything is in order,” Alya explained, lifting a finger for each job.

Marie just stared at Alya in amazement, so this is what a day in the life of a Lady Noble was like.  “Let’s get started then.”

 

As they worked through the long list of jobs to do, Marie had a sense of déjà vu, she couldn’t place where it was from but the feeling wouldn’t leave her.  They stopped when one of the scullery maids brought them some snacks to eat.

“Alya?  How often do you do this?” Marie asked in between bites of her scone.

“I usually only do this before a dignitary arrives.  Normally the Lady of the house is in charge of this but ever since the Queen passed away I have been helping His Excellency with the running of the house until Adrien finds a wife,” Alya explained.

“Oh, I see.  Do you mind me asking why you are doing what a Queen would normally do?” Marie said curiously.

“It’s because my family is a part of the Royal House, my mother was Adrien’s mother’s cousin,” Alya said smiling.  “I am Adrien’s second cousin and since my mother has her own house to run, the job falls to me.  I am lucky that the staff here usually do the general work which still allows me some freedom to do what an unwed Lady Noble gets to do while getting the experience that should help me find a suitable husband when the time comes.”

Marie was a little surprised when Alya explained the family tree but somehow it made sense on why she seemed to have more sway in the court than a normal Lady Noble.

“So what does an unwed Lady Noble do?”

“Well we usually do needlework, horse riding, charity work, we read and socialise.  I know that sounds like a lot but really it can get a bit boring at times, that is why I like doing things like this to help Adrien and his father.  Especially when I get to meet new people and find out what makes the castle tick,” Alya said as Tikki grabbed their now empty plates and took them into the kitchen.

 

After a long day of learning the workings of the castle, Marie returned to her chambers with Tikki who helped her bathe and dress for sleep.  As Tikki was brushing Marie’s short hair, Marie looked at her in the mirror, “Tikki?”

“Yes my Lady?”

“Please call me Marie, Tikki.  I was wondering, do you think I am a Lady Noble?” Marie asked.

“Of course my-Marie.  Why do you ask such a thing?”

“Well, I don’t know who I am and all of what Alya was talking about seems so foreign to me yet familiar.  But that could be because I was like you and learnt that by assisting and watching.  What do you think?”

“I think that even though your mind doesn’t remember, your body does.  The way you walk and talk is definitely someone of noble blood, also the way you handled yourself today, shows that you have the ability to manage a house with ease, that is not something you can do by just watching and assisting,” Tikki replied putting the hairbrush down.

“If I may, Marie.  I would say that you were born to a high ranking noble, possibly a Duke.  You don’t need to worry about not being a Lady Noble, you are possibly the most natural lady I have seen, and possibly one of the nicest.  Most nobles don’t speak to their attendants the way you speak to me, the only exceptions are Lady Alya, Lord Nino and Prince Adrien,” Tikki explained.

“Thank you Tikki, I really appreciate everything you have just said.  I do see you as one of my friends, no matter what our social standing is.  I have a feeling we will be having these talks a lot,” Marie said as she rose from her duchess.  “I think I will retire to bed now, but I will see you in the morning?”

“Of course my lady,” Tikki said and giggled as Marie threw one of her cushions at her.

“It’s Marie!  Now off to bed with you, I can turn down my sheets tonight,”

 

That night Marie dreamt of a castle where she was dressed in a beautiful gown and jewels.  There were lots of people standing around at what seemed to be a grand party.  Alya, Nino and Adrien were all there talking to each other but when she tried to speak to them, no sound would come out.  A noise sounded behind her and when she turned to look behind her she saw a man holding a sword advancing on her.  She screamed soundlessly and tried to run but no matter how fast she ran, he was always there.  When she fell in her panic he knelt down and grinned as he held is blade at her throat, he said something that she couldn’t hear and drew his blade across her neck.

 

Marie woke up drenched in sweat, she was still in her chambers where Tikki had left her hours before, judging by the height of the candle lighting the room.  She climbed out of her bed and put on her shawl before walking over to her balcony doors, opening them to let in a breeze.  As she stood on her balcony staring at the night sky, she didn’t realise that she was being watched.

 

As he stared at the beautiful woman who was bathed by the moonlight, Prince Adrien felt his heart skip a beat.  He had never felt more alive than when he looked at her and he hoped that soon his duties would allow for them to spend some more time together rather than the formal meals they shared with his father.  He watched as she turned and glided back into her chambers and decided that he too should go back to bed before someone caught him sneaking through his own castle again.


	4. The Charity Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am starting to really get into my writing now, it's becoming easier to write longer chapters while not rambling.
> 
> I am keen to hear your theories on how this story will progress. I have it mapped out pretty clearly where I want it to go, but if I hear theories that fit within the framework I have set out that I like, then I will try and work them in.
> 
> Thank you again for all your support, it really does make my day when I see how many hits I am getting, along with all the kudos and comments.
> 
> Enjoy!

Marie woke that morning to an excited Tikki opening her curtains to bring in the morning light.

“Good morning Marie, it’s a wonderful day today!” Tikki said cheerfully.

“Good morning Tikki, you are in a good mood, did Plagg finally invite you to accompany you on a walk?” Marie said teasingly.

Tikki blushed and dropped the dress he had brought for Marie to wear, “How did you?”

“I can always tell when a girl is in love Tikki, plus you are not very subtle when it comes to him,” Marie said as she stepped out of her night dress.  “So did he?”

“Yes, he asked me this morning when we ran into each other, but it’s when I am supposed to be helping you so I had to decline him,” Tikki said sadly, “But at least he asked me, it means he must like me!”

“Oh Tikki, I can look after myself today, go on and find him and tell him that you are now free the whole day to do as you wish,” Marie said pulling on her undergarments.

“Marie are you sure?  I couldn’t possibly do that to you.”

“Of course I am sure, now go before I push you out!” Marie scolded.

Tikki turned and ran towards the door, as she wrenched it open she stopped and called, “Thank you Marie, I will make it up to you somehow!”

“Just make sure you invite me to the wedding and we will call it even!” Marie called to her retreating friend, “Now, how do I clasp this dress again?”

 

Breakfast as a quiet affair as Marie ate her food with Adrien and King Gabrielle.  The later suddenly put down his cutlery and turned to his son, “Adrien, it is time to throw another charity event for the town.  I would like you to be in charge of this one, you can choose any type of event and any charity you wish.”

Adrien looked up at his father in surprise, “Of course father, I would be happy to do that, though I don’t know how much time I will have with all my lessons as well.”

“Your lessons will suspended from today until the event in 2 weeks.  That should give you enough time to plan and hold the event, do you object?” King Gabrielle asked.

“No father, that is plenty of time, thank you,” Adrien said with a smile.

“Excuse me your Excellency, may I ask what this event is about?” Marie asked shyly, still not used to speaking casually with a King.

“Every few months, the Royal Castle hosts a charity event of some sort for the town as a way of keeping spirits up and helping the less fortunate citizens.  We usually rotate the charity so that the money and items are spread evenly throughout the area,” he explained.

“Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea, your Excellency.  You are a very gracious ruler,” Marie said pressing her hands together in glee.

“Would you like to help me plan this one, Lady Marie?” Adrien asked timidly, glancing at his father for approval of the offer.  After seeing him smile and a slight nod of his head, Adrien continued, “It would be a great way for you to meet more people and get to know the kingdom a little better.”

“I would love to, your Highness.  Thank you very much for the offer, I graciously accept,” Marie replied with a smile on her face.

“Well then, I will leave you two to get started,” King Gabrielle said as he rose to leave the table, Marie and Adrien rising with him as per the custom.

Adrien led Marie to one of the courtyards in the castle grounds to discuss what they should do for the charity event.  As they walked they both started suggesting ideas but nothing really sticking, “Oh I have it!” Marie said suddenly.  “How about we have a dinner banquet with all the Lords and Ladies in the area but also invite the orphans from town?  We can donate clothes to them along with giving each of them a fine outfit to wear to the event that they can keep.  Also we can ask all the nobles to donate items and money on the evening to the children, or even if they wanted to take a child as a ward it would help the orphanage adopt the children out, plus give them a chance at an education and life they may never have had!”

Adrien stopped walking as he looked at Marie in awe as she described her idea.  “Marie, you are a wonderful, kind and generous woman.  How did I become as lucky as to know you?” he said before blushing as he realised what had come out of his mouth.  He looked at Marie and saw that she too was blushing but a small smile had graced her face.

“I don’t think I am quite that but thank you Adrien, you are very kind yourself,” she said as she started walking again.  “So do you like my idea?”

“What?  Oh!  Yes!  Yes I do like your idea Marie, sorry, I got a bit distracted.  I say we go with that, it’s simple but would be a perfect evening for everyone who attended,” Adrien rambled, racing to catch up with her. 

“Marie!!  Wait up!” Marie turned to see Alya striding towards herself and Adrien.  “Alya!  What are you doing here?”

“I need you to come with me straight away.  I have an emergency!” Alya said grabbing Marie’s hand before noticing Adrien.  “Good morning Adrien, sorry I need to steal Marie.”

“Good morning Alya,” he replied.  He turned to Marie, “Good bye my Lady, I will call on you later to discuss this further” before kissing her hand.

As both the girls left the courtyard, Adrien walked towards a bench that was hidden by some trees.  He sat down and put his hand to his lips.  ‘Her skin is so soft,’ he thought before remembering what he had said to her earlier that day, about how he had complimented her so freely and that she had blushed at his words.  He grew bright red again as he leaned back, putting his hands behind him and started to imagine actually courting her, getting to hold her hand and possibly even kissing her on the lips if it ever got that far.

 

The day of the Charity Dinner had arrived.  After 2 weeks of planning, Adrien and Marie were sure that they had thought of everything so that the evening could go off without a hitch.  The kitchen had prepared a banquet that could serve an army, the grand ballroom had been decorated with tables scattered throughout.  There were flowers and ribbons everywhere, to give it a more child friendly look, rather than the stark cool feel it usually had.  Speaking of the children, they were all milling around Marie, excitedly talking and squealing at the fact they were in the castle.  All the girls were showing each other their beautiful dressed they were wearing and the boys, though they would never admit it, thought their clothes were pretty cool too.

“All right now, listen up everyone,” Marie called over the din, “When these doors open we are all going to walk into the ballroom and take our seats ok?”

“Yes Lady Marie!” the children chorused, before lining up like they had practiced earlier in 2 lines, one of all the girls led by Marie and the other of all the boys led by Adrien.

“Shall we do this?” Adrien asked, nervously holding out his arm to Marie.

“We shall,” Marie agreed, wrapping her arm in his offered one.  The doors then opened and the light from the crystal chandeliers shone on them as they were announced to the gathered crowd of Lord and Ladies below.

 

Adrien looked around the room, loud chatter and children’s squeals could be heard from every corner of the room.  He could see the normally uptight Lord Kubdel animatedly speaking a young girl who was sitting next to him, arms flailing wildly as he told a story.  Adrien smiled as he then looked at the table where Marie and Alya were entertaining some children, when Marie suddenly laughed and Adrien swore he had never heard such an angelic sound before.  He swore then, that this had been a perfect night and nothing could ever best it.

 

The next day Adrien was walking towards his swordplay lesson when he heard a soft humming, as he looked around he couldn’t see who was making such wonderful music but the sound made him think of Marie and how happy she looked the night before when he told her that all the children had been adopted into noble families.  Duke Bourgeois took in 10 children alone, saying now that his daughter Duchess Chloe had married into another family, his home felt empty and he felt that is was the perfect idea to take in so many as most were siblings and he didn’t want to tear a family apart.

Alone with all the children being adopted, they had raised the most money they ever had with a charity event and more clothes and toys the orphanage knew what to do with.  His father, the King had even adopted a young boy named Theo who was very artistic and Adrien was glad to have a new younger brother.

As Adrien continued onto his lesson, Marie was leaning against her balcony railing as she looked out over the castle as she listened to Alya and Tikki talk.

“Marie would you stop humming and get over here?  We need to find another dress for Tikki to wear for her dinner with Plagg!” Alya called from her room.

“Coming!”


	5. Archery

“Ladies day?” Marie asked curiously as she walked through the castle grounds with Adrien on one of his rare afternoons off.

Adrien turned as he walked, “Yes, every year father holds a day where all the ladies of court showcase their skills in a multitude of events.”

“Like what?”

He thought for a moment before replying, “Well there is needlework, singing, dancing, horse riding, archery-“

“Archery?” Marie queried, “Surely that isn’t considered a sport for ladies of court?”

“I speak the truth My Lady.  Archery is considered a ladies sport in Linburn quite a number of ladies of high standing compete in tournaments throughout the year,” Adrien explained.

Marie considered what he had said before turning to him, “Adrien, do you think I could try it?”

“Try what Marie?”

“Archery,” Marie stopped walking, grabbing Adrien’s wrist to prevent him from going further.  He stared at her, glancing down at where she was touching him, a blush creeping onto his face.

“W-well I d-don’t see w-why you c-couldn’t,” he stuttered.  Adrien mentally kicked himself, where was this stutter coming from?  “I c-could take y-you to archery range i-if you wa-wanted.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, thank you Adrien,” Marie smiled and hooked her arm in his gesturing for him to lead the way.  Adrien just prayed that he could hold it together long enough to get through this afternoon.  He was going to have a long chat with Nino and Plagg this evening on what was happening with him and his speech issues.

 

Once they arrived at the range, Marie could see all the targets lined up at various distances from the deck.  A rack off to the side had bows and quivers hanging, waiting to be used.  She strode up to a bow and quiver set that had red ribbons hanging from them.

“Do the ribbons mean anything?” she asked as she lifted the bow from its hook, noticing that all the other sets had different coloured ribbons attached to them.

“The ribbons help archers know which arrows are theirs when a large group is practicing at the same time,” Adrien replied, pleased to notice his stutter had disappeared, “The ribbon on the bow just helps keep the sets together, it isn’t crucial to the actual bow.”

Marie nodded taking in what he had said, “Do you think that I could try with this one?” holding out the bow she had picked. 

Adrien walked over to her, taking the bow for a moment and testing the draw strength, “It seems a bit on the heavier side but I think you should be able to use this one.  Don’t be surprised if it is too stiff or hard to draw, it just means we have to choose a new bow until we find one that works for you.  Every archer is different and no two bows are the same so it can take time to find a perfect match,” he grabbed the matching quiver and carried them over to where the archer would stand to fire into the target.  “Grab the bow and draw the string, let’s see if you can draw it fully and I can see how you stand,” he instructed.

Marie held the bow in her left hand and with her right drew the string back until her thumb was touching her lips.  She felt her back muscles tense and a slight burn in her arms but no pain and she couldn’t feel any of the stiffness in the bow that Adrien had mentioned.

He was surprised when he watched her hold the bow in an almost perfect stance, not using her arms to draw but her back, a mistake that most amateur archers make.  He nodded before motioning for her to relax the bow as not to stain herself or the sting, “I’m impressed Marie, I admit I was not expecting you to be a natural at this.”

Marie smiled, “Thank you, it feels right when I hold it, perhaps I have done this before, in whatever life I led,” a darkness fell in her eyes as she thought of what her life could have been.

Adrien saw this and handed her an arrow, “Well, now that we know you can hold a bow, let us see if you can shoot,” a hint of teasing in his voice.  The darkness vanished as quickly as it arrived and Marie tilted her head slightly, taking the challenge that he had issued.

She set the arrow and chose her target, a board 50 meters away, she raised the bow higher than the top of the board, took a deep breath, drew back the string to her lips, slowly released the breath she had been holding and near the end loosed the arrow.

The arrow flew through the air, cutting its path before;

THWACK!

It pierced the board, right in the middle of the bullseye.  Marie turned to Adrien with a huge grin on her face, his jaw was open, his eyes wide with shock with what he had just witnessed.  “H-how?” he managed to squeak out, “How did you manage to do that?”

“I don’t know.  I just did,” Marie replied, “Should I try again?”

Adrien shook his head to clear it, bent and passed Marie another arrow, “Try a target further away see if you can hit one of those.”

Marie smiled cockily before raising the bow again.

 

“Nino, what is happening to me?” Adrien groaned into his pillow.  He was lying face first in his bed with Nino and Plagg lounging around in his room trying to console him.  “Every time she touches me, I can’t seem to speak properly, let alone actually court her!”

Plagg chuckled at that as he lounged on Adrien’s sunbed, “So you have finally decided to court the Lady Marie?”

Adrien lifted his head from the pillow, “Yes Plagg, I have decided to court her, but what is the use?  I can’t talk to her, I blush every time she looks at me and I can’t seem to think properly either!”

“Do you think she is a witch?” Plagg teased, “Perhaps that is why you are not yourself lately.”

“A witch?” Nino laughed crossing his arms as he leant against the pole of Adrien’s canopy bed, “Plagg have you been talking to the kitchen maids again?  There are no such things as witches.  Honestly Adrien what is happening is that you are in love.”

“Love her?  But I barely know her,” Adrien sat up with a thoughtful look on his face, “How do you know that Nino?” he asked, ignoring Plagg’s howling laughter.

“Because that is how I was when I first started courting the Lady Alya.  I couldn’t speak to her for days, I would open my mouth to say something and high pitched noises would come out instead!” Nino said with a shred of dignity.

“Wow, you two are horrible at romance if that is the case,” Plagg said as he stood up and stretched, “With Tikki, I just say what is on my mind and she laps it up,” he said as he started strutting towards the others.

“Sure, before she wallops you over the top of your head for being rude,” Nino countered causing Plagg to stumble, “What did you just say?” Plagg challenged.

Nino and Plagg then continued to bicker between themselves, leaving Adrien to ponder what they had both said.  Did he love Marie?  Could that be why he couldn’t think about her without his heart skipping a beat? 

“Enough you two!” he barked silencing them both, “I need to sleep so unless you are going to sleep with me, I suggest you go elsewhere,” he teased.

“Alright Highness, I’ll see you in the morning for practice,” Nino said bowing before grabbing Plagg by the ear and dragging him out of the room.

 

After Adrien changed into his night clothes he started humming a tune that his mother had sung to him when he was a boy.  He couldn’t remember the words but the notes were mostly there, he went to close the doors to his balcony when he heard someone else singing the same tune he was.  He raced to the balcony to see if he could spot the singer but to no avail, he turned back dejected, closing the doors he blew out his candle and curled up into bed.  He dreamt of his mother that night for the first time in many a year.

 

Thwack!  Thwack!  Thwack!

It was ladies day at the castle, Marie was standing in a pavilion set up at the archery range as she watched in awe as the archers raised their bows, drew the string back, and loosed an arrow. 

Thwack!  Thwack!  Thwack!

“Are you going to have a go Lady Marie?” Alya asked as she stood next to Marie. 

Marie looked at Alya before turning to look at Adrien who was standing next to his father and his new brother Theo.  She smiled remembering their practice at the range the other day, she had made him speechless at her ability to hit every target in the bullseye without missing once.  He had called her a natural and she felt it when she held a bow in her hands.

“Yes, I believe I will Lady Alya,” she replied before moving to collect her favourite bow and quiver, the ones with the red ribbons.  She took a free space in the line of ladies and picked up an arrow. 

As she readied herself to shoot, all the other ladies stopped turning to watch her.  She was curious as to why they had done that but decided that if they weren’t going to shoot then she would.  She choose the target furthest away from her, stole a quick glance at Adrien noticing his large goofy grin, drew the string as she had done previously and let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am loving this story so far. Does anyone have any theories on who Marie is or what the song may be? I'll give you a hint, the song is from an animated movie released in 1997.
> 
> this is what I imagine Marie wearing at ladies day.
> 
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/df/8e/67/df8e67504802514821c6de82d606eb0d.jpg
> 
> some other outfits I have found that I feel they would wear day to day.
> 
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/a1/7d/bd/a17dbd0fcfd2e9b582b79361f98905a1.jpg  
> http://g01.a.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1YJ0LIXXXXXbBXpXXq6xXFXXXJ/Freeship-font-b-Victorian-b-font-font-b-Corset-b-font-Gothic-Civil-War-Southern-Belle.jpg  
> http://g01.a.alicdn.com/kf/HTB10hOOJXXXXXXJXFXXq6xXFXXXR/1860s-font-b-Victorian-b-font-font-b-Corset-b-font-Gothic-Civil-War-Southern-Belle.jpg  
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/28/2f/f3/282ff356d08e50e3e4456bddf91ccdf5.jpg  
> https://a.wattpad.com/cover/78997698-368-k34098.jpg
> 
> I know they aren't historically accurate but it is what I envision when I see them and all credits go to the artists and designers.


	6. The Library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking so long to update this story. On top of having writer's block, I have had my anniversary, 3 birthdays, valentines day and my fiancé being involved in an almost fatal accident. Safe to say writing hasn't been on the top of my to do list. 
> 
> In saying that, I have enjoyed writing this chapter, it wasn't as long as I wanted it nor is it what I had originally planned but I feel like to helps progress the story more in the direction I want it.
> 
> Let me know if you have any suggestions for where I can improve or if you have theories on what is happening. I am still yet to get to the main plot as this is still all set up, I think we have another 2 chapters before the ball will drop and the angst begins.
> 
> Until then, sorry and I hope to get more done in the next few weeks (before I go and have surgery to have my wisdom teeth removed!).

Marie tried to contain her giggle as Adrien led her by the hand through the castle halls. She couldn’t see where she was going or if anyone else was around as he had placed a slip of fabric over her eyes, blinding her and stating that he had a surprise for her.  She had tried in vain to get him to tell her what he wanted to show her and every time he just responded “Just be patient My Lady, just a few more minutes,” or “Don’t worry, you will love it.”

“Adrien, can you please tell me where we are going?” she tried one more time.

He just squeezed her hand gently, “Just a few more steps. Alright now wait here, I just have to open the doors.” 

Marie then heard the sound of large heavy doors opening slowly. “Adrien?” she called, her hands stretching out in front of her.  She yelped when she felt something grab her hand before realizing it was Adrien’s hand. 

“Come on, your surprise is just in here,” he said as he encouraged her to move forwards.

A smell hit Marie’s nose, one she couldn’t quite place but that was pleasing. “Where are we?”  Suddenly there was a bright light as her blindfold was removed.  It took her a few moments to get used to the intensity of the light in the room compared to the darkness of the blindfold, when she was finally able to see clearly, her eyes widened, her heart skipped a beat and her hands flew to her mouth to cover an involuntary gasp.

“Do you like it?” Adrien asked quietly from where he stood of to her side, watching her reaction carefully.

She turned to look at him, “Yes, of course I like it! Oh Adrien, this is magnificent!”  She slowly turned around, trying to take in the huge room. 

 

It was a library, but nothing like she couldn’t ever imagine, there were shelves of books of all types staked as high as the ceiling and as so far back that shouldn’t see the end of the room. There were desks and chairs scattered throughout the floor and the large windows allowed natural light to creep into the otherwise shadowed corners.

“How did I not know about this room?” Marie asked as she slowly made her way further into the expansive room.

“Well it was my mother’s personal library and no one was allowed to come in here unless they had permission from my father or myself,” Adrien explained as he followed her exploration.

Marie stopped as soon as he said that, “Oh I am so sorry Adrien. I should probably leave then, I wouldn’t want to intrude on such a personal place,” she said sadly.  As she turned to leave the room before Adrien clasped her hand in his, “Marie, please stay.  I-I….” he took a deep breath and remembered what Nino and Plagg had told him a few days prior, “I want you to be able to come here, whenever you feel like it.  I want you to be able to spend your days exploring the worlds hidden in the pages of these books.  I want this to become your library.”

“Thank you Adrien, that is truly kind, though I wonder, why?” Marie queried.

“Why what?” Adrien asked confused.

“Why would you give me your late mother’s personal library? That doesn’t seem like a gift you would give just anyone,” she questioned.

Adrien was stunned for a moment, he hadn’t expected her to question his gift like this and he wasn’t prepared! ‘Think Adrien, should I tell her the truth or should I make up some excuse?  Think!!!!!  Oh to hell with it!’

Adrien moved slightly to hold both her hands in his and looked her in her beautiful bluebell eyes, “Because……… Because I like you Marie,” he whispered.

Marie couldn’t believe what she was hearing, Adrien, the Crown Prince, liked her. Her, Marie, the girl with no memory from a questionable background!  She had fostered feelings for him since the moment she opened her eyes that first day but knew that it was not the done thing for a lady to openly speak of her feelings to a man, let alone a Crown Prince!

“Marie?” Adrien’s voice broke into her thoughts as she realized that she had been silent too long after his confession.

“Sorry Adrien, I didn’t mean to stay silent for so long. I-I……..I like you too,” she said softly, smiling sweetly at him.

Adrien gave a deep breath of relief when he heard her response. She liked him, she really liked him!  “Marie, I don’t really know the right way to ask this but, would you accept my offer to court you?”

Marie smiled up at him and nodded her head, “Yes Adrien, I will accept your offer to court me.”

“Wonderful, perhaps before we tell the others, we explore your library a bit more, what do you think?”

“I think……..you’re it!” she called bopping him on the nose before running off into the shelves.

“Come back here!” he called racing after her.

 

After being informed of the strange noises coming out of the library all afternoon; Nino, Alya, Tikki and Plagg all met up at the front of the library doors after searching for their respective charges all day. One of the guards, Kim, had informed them of laughter and giggles coming from the usually empty room and as the group entered the room, they spread out in search of their missing friends.

Nino was the one to find them, curled up together near the back shelves, a large pile of books open in front of them and smiles on their faces. When he informed the others of his find, they agreed to leave them be to sleep and Nino said he would stand watch in the front of the library to ensure they weren’t disturbed. 

 

Little did they realise that Adrien was actually awake, he cracked an eyelid to watch the sleeping woman in his arms, a soft smile broke onto his face before he started softly humming his mother’s lullaby and drifting back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have loved writing this story, I thought I would give a shout out to the show that inspired this story. 
> 
> Snow white with the red hair.  
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_with_the_Red_Hair
> 
> For anyone who knows the series I feel that Marie is like Shirayuki, Adiren is like Zen, Nino is like Mitsuhide, Plagg is very much Obe and Alya is similar to Kiki. 
> 
> Thoughts?


	7. Secrets

It was the sound of soft singing that woke Adrien the next morning, he smiled as he listened to the beautiful voice, it was so familiar and the name of the tune escaped his memory before realising that this was the voice that he had been hearing throughout the castle over the past few weeks!He winced at the bright shaft of light that was breaking through the window to his left as he stretched his stiff body from sleeping on the ground all night.  
He glanced around but couldn’t see the beautiful songstress that had roused him from his blissful sleep so he decided to investigate who was in this supposedly private library.

As he stalked the countless rows of bookcases he had a feeling that he had forgotten something important but for the life of him he couldn’t work out what that was.He had almost reached the front of the room when suddenly he saw Nino sitting in a reading chair with a large book in his lap.

“Nino?”

When he heard his name called, Nino looked up with a smile, “Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens.How was your sleep?”

“It was fine, is there anyone else here Nino?I could swear I just heard someone singing,” Adrien asked.

A feminine giggle broke out around the corner from Adrien’s sight, whoever it was seemed to be siting with Nino in the reading chairs.Adrien moved the last few steps to round the corner and see who was intruding in this private space, when he suddenly stopped dead.

Of course, that is what he had forgotten, or perhaps who he had forgotten would be more appropriate, as he saw a beautiful young woman, with short dark hair and deep blue eyes, trying to hide her laughter behind the book she was holding.

“Oh Marie, forgive me, I didn’t realise you were still here,” Adrien said after a few moments of silence that were punctured by her laughter, “Wait a minute…… Nino……What are you doing here?”

Nino chuckled softly, “Well when the Crown Prince decided to play hooky yesterday, the whole castle was in a panic so along with the rest of our lively group, I was looking for you.Kim mentioned that there had been laughter coming from this place all afternoon so we decided to check in here and found you too asleep on the floor.I decided to let you two mischief makers rest and kept guard just in case but I would suggest going to your father and apologising for making him worry all day.I had Kim inform him that you were safe and sound studying in the library,” Nino explained.

Adrien nodded at his reasoning before realising the position Nino would have found him in, curled up asleep……..with Marie…....alone…….unchaperoned…….oh god……what did she think of him?Adrien turned to look at her, aware that his face was turning beetroot red, “M-Marie I apologise if I caused you any embarrassment with my actions over the past day.I know it isn’t the done thing and I promise that my actions were of good intent.”

Marie smiled, “It is ok Adrien. I choose to stay here without a chaperone because I trust you.Though I suppose I will need to ensure at least Alya or Tikki are with me from now on if we are to continue this.”

“Of course, I suppose Nino or Plagg will have to do the same with me,” Adrien agreed before his face soured, “I will have to tell father at some point but I think I will hold that off for a bit so that we can get to know each other better before you are bombarded with all the duties of the royal household.”

Nino watched the interaction with confusion, “What are you both talking about?Why do you need to be chaperoned?”

“Oh, I suppose we haven’t told you all yet,” Adrien started, “Marie agreed to allow me to court her yesterday.”

Nino’s face was priceless, with his eyes wide and mouth open, you would have been forgiven for thinking he had just been told he was actually a prince not a lord’s son.

“Nino?” Marie asked, worried about his silence and lack of movement.

The sound of his name knocked him out of his stupor as he turned to Adrien, his finger pointing at the prince, “You actually did it?You asked her?I never thought I would see the day!” Nino just kept blabbering on about how he couldn’t believe what he had just been told for another 10 minutes before Marie interrupted him.

“My apologies Nino for interrupting, but if it isn’t too much trouble I would like to return to my chambers to get changed for the day.”

“Oh of course Marie,” Adrien said suddenly standing from where he had been leaning against a bookcase during Nino’s tirade, “I will escort you back right away.Nino you coming?”

“Sure.”

As they reached Marie’s quarters they were surprised to find Alya, Tikki and Plagg all waiting for them.A few quiet reprimands for staying out all night later, the girls dragged Marie into her room before she could say goodbye.Adrien, along with Nino and Plagg, walked to his chambers so that he could get ready for the day as well, his father would be expecting him soon for breakfast and then he had lessons all day.

“Nino, can you please make sure that no-one knows about what we told you this morning?Obviously our friends will know as we will need your help but if anyone outside of us finds out before I tell father, I shudder to think of what will happen,” Adrien asked seriously.

“You don’t even have to ask Adrien,” Nino replied as he placed his hand on Adrien’s shoulder, “You can count on me.”

“Uh what are you two lovebirds talking about?” Plagg asked as he tried to look inconspicuous.

“You are going to love this Plagg,” Nino replied with a grin as Adrien walked behind his privacy partition to change his clothes.

Adrien was finally ready after listening to Plagg tease him mercilessly for finally having the guts to ask Marie to court him when he remembered something from this morning.

“Nino?I never did find out.Who was singing in the library this morning?”

“Hmmm?Oh that was Marie, she has the voice of an angel doesn’t she?” Nino replied.

“WHAT?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive any errors in this chapter. I am currently sitting on the floor in the Brisbane Airport waiting for my plane home after having surgery this week. The drugs have still addled my brain and I am sure there are sections that dont make sense but I really wanted to upload this as soon as possible since it has been a long time since my last upload.
> 
> I am going to knock out the next chapter on my flight which is going to have a lot of drama and will start the ball rolling for everthing that is about to happen.


	8. The Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is Adrien's 20th year and the kingdom is throwing a ball in celebration.
> 
> He is determined to tell his father about him and Marie and hopes to do it before the ball as after a prince turns 20 he is of age to marry and he already knows that he wants to marry Marie.
> 
> Surely nothing could go wrong in the meantime, could it?

There was a flurry of activity in the castle, silverware was being polished, tapestries cleaned, lords and ladies were arriving from all over the kingdom in preparation for a large event.  Prince Adrien was turning 20 years of age which means that the King was holding a ball in celebration.  In Linburn when a prince or princess turns 20 it means that they have reached the age where they can marry, not that Adrien had mentioned anything about marriage yet, but Marie assumed that if he was courting her that that would be an option in the future.

She was spending her days learning how to dance for the ball since she would be a guest of the prince along with Alya and Nino, though Tikki and Plagg were not able to attend as guests but had been requested to work the evening as serving hands which wasn’t unusual in these situations. 

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, again!” the dance instructor who had been teaching Marie and Alya barked, “And one and two and three and turn!”

Marie was partnered with a young man she hadn’t met before named Nathanael, he was a lord’s son like Nino and was very charming.  He seemed very shy around her and after a few attempts to start a conversation Marie found out that he was an artist at heart though his father disapproved of his passion.  She looked over at Alya who had been partnered with Nino and she seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, as he leaned in and whispered something in her ear that made her blush and giggle.

“So Lady Marie, are you excited for the ball tomorrow night?” Nathanael asked as they started a new dance that seemed familiar to her.

“Oh yes, I don’t know if I have ever attended one before so it is all new to me,” she replied as they spun before coming back together, “I have to say that I do enjoy dancing though.”

Nathanael smiled shyly, “I am glad to hear that Lady Marie.  Perhaps you could save me a dance?”

Marie nodded, “I am sure that I can do that Lord Nathanael, you are a wonderful dancer, it must be your artistic abilities that allow you to be so graceful,” she praised as they finished dancing.

“You are too kind my Lady.  Until tomorrow night, I bid you adieu,” he said as he bowed and kissed her hand politely.

 

Marie decided that she wanted to go for a walk around the gardens after her lesson and Alya and Nino agreed to accompany her so that they could discuss the ball and everything that had happened in the past few weeks. 

“Lord Nathanael was getting very familiar today, wasn’t he Marie?” Alya said with a smirk.

“You know as well as I, that I can’t discourage behaviour like that until Adrien speaks to his father about us,” Marie reprimanded her friend.

“When do you think that will be?” Nino asked as he walked next to Alya nonchalantly holding her hand.

“He said that he would try and speak to his father before the ball, depending on when the King was available to talk.  He has been extremely busy as of late and even has missed the last few breakfasts with us,” Marie explained.

They walked in silence for a time before Alya spoke again, “I have to say I was surprised to find out that you were the mystery singer that Adrien had been talking about.  I mean, I have been there when you were singing and I can understand what he meant when he said you sound like an angel.”

“Thank you, it was strange that the song I have stuck in my head is similar to the late Queens’ lullaby.  Perhaps I have visited here before but then I suppose someone would have recognised me by now if that was the case,” Marie mused.

“In any case, we should head back in before it gets dark,” Nino said as he looked around the gardens as the light started to fade before leading the women inside.

 

The next evening Marie found herself getting ready with Tikki before she had to run off for her other job, she was currently being put into her corset which was a labour in itself.

“Just a bit more Marie, we just have to put on your hoop, petticoats and skirts then all that is left is your accessories,” Tikki said before grunting slightly as she pulled another thread in the contraption.

“Thank you Tikki, I don’t know what I would do without you, truly,” Marie said before she lost her breath again when Tikki tugged another thread.

“It is my pleasure Marie.  I have to say that you look stunning, you really will be the belle of the ball tonight.  I can’t wait to see Adrien’s face when he sees you for the first time,” she replied before placing the hoop over Marie’s head.

After a while longer getting ready Marie looked in the mirror and almost didn’t recognise herself, “Tikki, you have outdone yourself.”

She took in her reflection, a red corset with black embroidery in the front panel, two thick straps on her shoulders with ribbons where they met the body of the dress and again where the corset and skirt met, her skirt was the same red and was bunched at her hips giving a ruffled effect.  Under the skirt she had red and black heels that couldn’t be seen unless she gathered her skirts in hand, a red fan in hand simple red and black round earrings adorned her ears.  Her short hair had grown slightly since she had arrived and was long enough to put up in a bun which had a red, feather and jewelled beret pinning everything together.  A small amount of makeup completed the look giving her just enough colour to not look washed out with all the red in her outfit.

“I should be off now Marie, I don’t want to be late for my duties,” Tikki said as she looked to Marie for confirmation.

“Of course Tikki.  I should be going as well if I am going to meet up with the others,” Marie agreed, giving herself one last look in the mirror before she left her rooms and walked with Tikki towards the grand ball room.

 

Alya and Nino were waiting in the ball room for Marie to arrive while Adrien was standing with his father and brother on the raised dais watching their guests mingle and dance. 

“Presenting the Lady Marie!” a herald called out over the din of the crowd.

Everyone looked up at the top of the staircase as Marie walked slowly down the stairs, looking very regal she held her head up high, Adrien smiled as he watched her and walked to meet her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. 

“May I have this dance my Lady?” he asked holding his hand out in a partial bow. 

Marie smiled as she took his hand and curtsied, “Of course your highness.”

 

They danced for what seemed like hours, only stopping to grab refreshments and to speak to Nino and Alya.  After one particularly romantic dance the King called a halt to the celebrations to make an announcement, “Lords and Ladies, I would like to thank you all for attending tonight to celebrate my eldest son’s 20th year.  As is tradition in our kingdom this means that he is now of age to marry and I proud to announce that Crown Prince Adrien is betrothed,”

Marie looked to Adrien in confusion, he hadn’t asked her to marry him but perhaps things were done differently here where a crown prince could just announce the engagement instead of asking the woman he was courting, but when she saw his face her blood ran cold.  Adrien looked as confused as she did, “Adrien?” she whispered, “What is going on?”

“I don’t know Marie, I didn’t get a chance to speak to father about us yet,” Adrien whispered back as his father continued.

“Prince Adrien has been promised to marry the Princess Marinette of Rosemoore which will join our two kingdoms together!” King Gabriel announced to roaring approval of all in the room, other than Adrien, Marie, Alya, Nino, Tikki and Plagg.

 

Adrien couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he was betrothed?  To some princess in another kingdom he had never met?  How could this be?  He looked down at Marie, her face was a myriad of emotions, horror, sadness, anger, confusion and strangely acceptance. 

“Marie, I-,” he started, unsure what to say, she just shook her head in answer.

“No Adrien.  I know this isn’t of your doing but obviously the King has a plan for your country and that must include you being married to Princess Marinette.  I am sure she is a lovely woman and will make you happy.  Please excuse me I need some air,” Marie said in a strained voice before she walked off.

“Marie!  Please wait!” he called before being surrounded by Lords and Ladies congratulating him on his engagement.

“Congratulations your highness!”

“It will be a well-made match indeed!”

“I am sure your new bride will be a beauty!”

 

As Adrien tried to fend off his well-wishers, he caught Nino’s eye where he stood at the side of the room with Alya, both of them were stunned with the announcement and Nino nodded solemnly at his best friend before turning to say something to Alya as he led her off to find Marie.

It took the King walking up to Adrien to finally free him from the crowd, he looked at his father unsure if he should be angry for him not telling him that he had been promised in marriage to another or thankful for allowing him some breathing room from their guests.

“Father, can we please talk in private?” Adrien asked firmly.

“Of course my son, I am sure you have lots of questions about your betrothed but I can assure you, she is a fine woman from all accounts,” King Gabriel replied as he nodded regally to his guests who bowed and curtsied as they passed, “Perhaps we can talk over breakfast?  I have some official matters that require my immediate attention but you will have as much of my time as you need in the morning.”

“Very well father, thank you,” Adrien accepted, he knew that his father was a busy person and appreciated that he was trying to make time for his son.

“Go and enjoy the rest of the ball son, I am sure your friends are waiting for you,” the King said as he swept out of the room. 

As Adrien scanned the room for the others he noticed a small being curled up behind a curtain, it was Theo his little brother.  He was sure he had seen Theo’s nanny take him back to his rooms a few hours ago when it started to get late for the young boy but he must have snuck back out to watch the ball, he smiled before picking up the small boy and carrying him back to his chamber before someone else found him and got the youngster in trouble.

 

Outside Marie was hiding in one of the hidden nooks of the palace garden that Adrien had shown her weeks ago, this particular one had a small koi pond and fountain along with an oak tree and pavilion.  She was watching the fish swim in circles when she heard a noise coming from the pathway, “Lady Marie?”

“Lord Nathanael?” she called as he turned the corner and saw her sitting on the ground at the edge of the water.

“I thought I saw you come out here, is everything ok?” he asked as he kneeled next to her, a concerned look adorning his face.

“Oh yes, I just needed some fresh air, it got a bit stuffy inside and I was starting to feel faint,” she replied glancing down at her reflection to ensure she didn’t have puffy eyes from crying earlier.

“That is good to hear, not you feeling faint, but you being ok,” he quickly amended, “I had been trying to find you this evening to collect that dance but alas I could not seem to find you alone.”

Marie was stunned for a moment but then realised that he was right, the entire night she had been with Adrien dancing or laughing with Alya and Nino.  The poor young man would have been intimidated by her company, how could he cut in on the Crown Prince even if she had promised him a dance?

“My Lord, I must apologise for not saving you a dance, but I fear that I do not want to go back inside the ball room tonight as it may be too much for me,” she said remorsefully.

“Perhaps I could dance with you here?” he offered as he stood holding out his hand.

“But we don’t have any music,” she said as she allowed him to help her up.

“Ah my fair lady, we do not need music to enjoy each other’s company.  But if you do require something please allow me,” he then took a step towards her, putting one hand on her waist and the other took her hand and led her into a slow waltz. 

As they moved, he started to sing softly, a sweet tune that was similar to the one they had practiced to the day before;

_Who has lit the starlight that shines so bright in your eyes?  Who has lit the darkness for the shepherds on the night?  Who has placed the straw crown that sits upon your small brow?  Who has brought the wise men to the stable, precious child?_

_Are you one of many more or the one they're waiting for?_ _You my little child so close to my heart.  Have I given you in birth to be the treasure of the earth?  Are you truly heaven laying cradle in my arms?_  
  
_Why the tears you're crying? What has made you frightened?  Why do your tiny fingers hold so tightly momma's hair?  See the dancing shadows, feel how soft the wind blows.  It's following an angel that was only just there_  
  
_Are you one of many more or the one they're waiting for?  You my little child so close to my heart.  Have I given you in birth to be the treasure of the earth? Are you truly heaven laying cradle in my arms?_  
  
_May you greet all others as sisters and as brothers.  And may you be received with only love and gentleness.  Wherever time may take you I will not forsake you.  Grant this mother's prayer that your days of mirth be_  
_blessed_  
  
_Are you one of many more or the one they're waiting for?  You my little child so close to my heart.  Have I given you in birth to be the treasure of the earth?  Are you truly heaven laying cradle in my arms?_  
  
_Who has lit the starlight that's shining bright in your eyes?  Shining like a diamond over little Bethlehem._  


Little did they know that they were being watched by three figures; Nino and Alya had followed Marie out of the ballroom and were about to speak to her when Nathanael had walked in. 

The other figure was standing on a balcony in the upper floors and had a perfect view of the garden, Adrien watched as Marie and Nathanael danced together in the moonlight.  He wished that he was the one down there dancing with her, comforting her and promising her that he would get to the bottom of this whole betrothal problem but by the time he had carried Theo back to his room the boy begged him not to leave until he fell back asleep.

‘Tomorrow,’ he thought, ‘I will speak with father tomorrow and have this all cleared up and I can go to her with the good news that everything is how it is supposed to be.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the drama in this chapter, it is also longer than what I normally write but I felt that if I broke it up the mood would be lost.
> 
> So what do you think of the new developments? I personally don't know if I love how I have done it but felt like it was the right way to go (the whole Nathanael dancing scene I wanted to write for Adrien but it just didn't fit within the story)
> 
> The dress that Marie is wearing was inspired from this image  
> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgkVGQZVEAA0YyI.jpg
> 
> The song that Nathanael sings is this  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_o6cLYVEB0


	9. The Fallout

Adrien couldn’t believe his ears, “But Father!”  He stood in his father’s throne room, staring up at him as he sat on his throne, “Please call this engagement off!”

“No Adrien, I am sorry that you do not agree with the decision but this has been arranged for the past 18 years.  I am not going to break off this engagement just because you don’t want to marry the Princess Marinette,” Gabriel said firmly. 

“18 years?  If this has been arranged for almost as long as I have been alive, why was I not told about it?” Adrien asked.

“Adrien, is there a reason that you are so against this idea?”

“Well….I….” he stopped before taking in a deep breath, “Father, I am currently courting the Lady Marie.”

Gabriel sat there stunned for a time, “I didn’t realise that the two of you had gotten so close in her weeks here.  How long has the courtship been going on?”

“Only a few days Father.  I wanted to tell you earlier but we were both so busy it was impossible to find the time and then you made the announcement of my engagement public last night and I-“

Gabriel held up his hand for silence, “My son, you are the Crown Prince of Linburn, while this does provide you with many privileges that others do not have, it does come with a price.  That price is not having the freedom to do what our heart tells us to do.  We must rule and guide our people with our heads and this marriage with the Princess of Rosemoore will solidify our alliance with her kingdom.”

Adrien tried again to speak but Gabriel continued, “Your mother, God rest her soul, was the one who arranged this with the Queen of Rosemoore when you were both children.  I do not know if the Princess has been informed of the arrangement either but it was agreed that it would be publicly announced on your 20th birthday.”

Adrien knew his father well enough that when he spoke of his mother, anything that she had arranged or decided was law and would never be changed.  He loved his mother and missed her dearly but sometimes he felt like his father took his grieving a little too far especially since she had passed away over 10 years prior.

“Father,” he pleaded, “Please, I love Lady Marie, I don’t even know the princess,” but his pleas fell on deaf ears. 

“Adrien, I have tried to be understanding but I am your king and you will obey my orders.  You will marry the Princess Marinette and I will not hear another word about the matter.”

Adrien held back the tears that were threatening to fall, “When will the wedding be?” he said finally.

“In half a year, she will be of age by then and it will give us enough time to plan the event.  I will send word to the King and Queen of Rosemoore offering them the opportunity to send Princess Marinette to stay with us so that you can get to know each other,” Gabriel stood and turned to leave the room as Adrien bowed out of habit rather than caring for his father.

 

THWAK!  THWAK!  THWAK!

“OW!” Nino cried as Adrien’s practice sword smashed against his wrist causing him to lose the grip on his sword and have it clatter the ground.  Adrien dashed over and checked Nino’s wrist making sure he hadn’t broken the bone before apologizing profusely.

“I am so sorry Nino, I didn’t mean for that to happen!”

Nino grimaced as he picked up the dropped weapon, “Ah!  What is with you today Adrien?  Your focus is all over the place and you have been ignoring me and Plagg since last night.”

Adrien walked over to where their towels were draped over a bench, he pick his up and wiped the sweat from his brow, “I am sorry Nino, I just-  I-  Father refuses to budge on this whole engagement with the Princess and I am going to be married in half a year whether I like it or not.”

Nino walked over holding his sword in his uninjured hand and accepted the spare, clean, towel from Adrien and sat down, “Have you spoken to Marie?”

“No.”

“Well why not?  Where did you run off to last night anyway?  Alya and I followed her but you never showed,” Nino inquired.

“I found Theo asleep in the ballroom, rascal snuck out of his room and I had to take him back before someone spotted him.  He woke up when I was putting him in bed and begged me not to leave until he fell asleep again.  By that point it was so late that I had to retire to my room as well,” Adrien explained, “I, uh, did see her in the garden from Theo’s room though.”

Nino sighed, “So, you saw her with Lord Nathanael?’

Adrien nodded, “Yes, she seemed happy with him.  Perhaps he would be a better suitor for her.”  He was looking down dejectedly so he didn’t notice Nino’s face contort into anger, him raise the hard wooden sword or drop it down quickly.  He did notice when a sharp pain erupted on his unsuspecting wrist as the sword smashed against it.

“OW!!!!!”

 

“So would either of you tough, strong men, care to tell me how you both have injured wrists at the same time?” Alya asked pointedly as she and Marie bandaged the boys’ wrists as they sat in the private courtyard reserved for the royal family. 

Plagg had arrived at the training room earlier to find the Crown Prince and Lord’s son, bickering between themselves, holding their injured hands away from the other.  He then found Tikki and asked her to bring Alya and Marie to the courtyard with a healing kit as he knew the young men would refuse to go to the medical wing for such embarrassing wounds.

“We got them while we were practicing,” Nino said eyeing Adrien.

“Why don’t we believe you,” Marie said as she tightened Adrien’s bandage, causing him to wince in pain.

“Because you can be cruel mistresses?” Nino suggested before hissing in pain as Alya squeezed his hand.

 

Once they had finished packing away the spare bandages back into the kit, they all sat in the courtyard in awkward silence.

“Marie, I meant to ask,” Alya started causing everyone to look up at the abrupt break in quietness, “How was your dance with Lord Nathanael last night?”  Adrien saw Marie stiffen at the question but quietly waited to hear her response.

“You saw that?” Marie asked, Alya and Nino both nodded their heads, “Yes, we had followed you to make sure you were ok after you ran out but he found you before we did.  We didn’t want to be rude and interrupt you but when you started dancing together and-“ Alya stopped talking, blushing a little as she remembered the intimate moment between her friend and the Lord.

“It was nice, but I only danced with him because I had promised him a dance at the ball during our rehearsals together and the poor man didn’t have the courage to cut in on the Crown Prince,” Marie said.

“But he was singing to you,” Alya objected.

“We didn’t have music because I didn’t want to go back into the ballroom,” Marie defended, “I do not understand why you are so against this?”

“Because you are with Adrien are you not?” Alya snapped.

Marie flinched at her words, glancing at Adrien out of the corner of her eye before responding, “As of last night, Adrien is engaged to a Princess of another country, which to me seems like that trumps our courtship, especially since it had barely been a week since it had started,” she turned to face Adrien, “I will always love you Adrien but I understand that your duty to your country will always come first and I admire that about you.  I promise you that I will always be there for you and support you in whatever you may be, but it will be just a friend, nothing more.”

Adrien started at her, he could see the pain in her eyes, her hands shaking and he could hear the waver in her voice.  She was being so strong and kind, whereas here he was sulking like a small child because he couldn’t get what he wanted.  He stood taking her hand with his, his bandaged hand flared with pain at the movement. 

“Thank you Marie.  I am sorry that I didn’t come and see you sooner to discuss everything that has happened.  I tried to talk to my father about this but he has ordered me to marry Princess Marinette and,” he paused for a moment, “She has been invited to join us here for the next few months until the wedding.”

Marie smiled before letting her hands drop, “Thank you for telling me Adrien.  If you would excuse me, I promised Tikki I would accompany her into town today.  Come on Tikki, we should hurry.”

Adrien watched as Marie and Tikki walked away from him, his heart breaking further as he realised that he had hurt her by being selfish in his feelings.  If he hadn’t tried to court her then they wouldn’t be in so much pain or have things so awkward between them.

“You are just letting her go?” Alya asked softly as she also watched them leave.

“I have to Alya, it is the best thing for her to move on and hopefully find someone who can take care of her until her memories come back and she remembers who she is.  Maybe Lord Nathanael will be able to heal her heart?”

At his words, Nino snapped again and after quickly checking that there no lookers on, he swung around and grabbed Adrien’s shirt front pulling the prince towards himself, “Now you listen here Prince.  You love that girl and for some reason she loves you, so find a way to get out of this stupid engagement because she is the best thing that will ever happen to you!”

He then let go of Adrien’s shirt pushing him away from himself before stalking off in a huff.  Alya looked at Adrien who had fallen back onto the bench behind in from the force of Nino’s push before she broke into a trot to catch up to Nino.  Plagg moved up to Adrien, straightened his shirt without a word.

“Plagg what am I going to do?” Adrien asked.

“I don’t know but whatever it is, you are going to have to do it fast,” Plagg said as he sat down and let Adrien think in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #ithoughttheangstwasover 
> 
> Im sorry.


	10. Public Affairs

Marie could feel the sun shine on her face as she walked down to the town outside the castle walls.  It wasn't the first time that she had visited but it had been some weeks since her last trip and new stores had popped up everywhere.  Next to her Tikki walked quietly, carrying a basket for her to hopefully fill with the items she needed.

"Tikki.  What was it that you needed again??" Marie asked, finally breaking the strained silence.

Tikki startled at Marie's voice before responding, "I need to get some fabrics for a dress I am making.  Plagg has asked me to accompany him to dinner next week and I wanted something new to wear."

Marie smiled as her young friend talked about the dinner and dress excitedly, joining in with questions of the design and colour she wanted to use.

"I was really inspired by the dress you wore to the ball Marie, I think red with black accents would look nice but keep the design simple so I can re-wear it," she said as they stopped in front of the fabric shop.

The shop was overflowing with colour, rolls of fabric poured out from shelves, covered tables and some even hung from the ceiling.  Tikki strode in without a second glance, already knowing where the fabrics she wanted were located.

Marie wandered around, absent-mindedly touching the materials, letting the different textures run across her fingers.  She stopped at a pile of fabric that seemed to be offcuts from larger rolls that people didn't want, she pulled a few out and studied them.  These were perfectly good pieces of fabric but because of their odd shapes or small size no one wanted them, something in her heart told her that she needed to purchase these and make something with them.

Once she had a large portion of the material in her arms she strode over to where the store owner stood as he spoke to Tikki who had found what items she needed and had just finished paying for them.

“What have you got there Marie?” she asked quietly, not wanting the man to hear her speaking to so candidly to a lady of higher standing than herself.

Marie looked down at the pile in her arms, “I found all of these offcuts and I am going to make something with them.  I am not sure what yet but I know it will come to me eventually.”

She lay everything on the bench in front of them as the clerk started folding them back up and counting how much the cost would be.  As she waited, Marie could hear loud yelling coming from the town square just outside the shop. 

“Excuse me sir, I will be back for those, I just have to check something first,” she said before rushing out to see what the commotion was.

 

When she walked into the sunshine she was stunned, there was a large crowd gathering around the raised platform that commanded the area, a young man stood on the platform speaking to the crowd who chorused back loudly.

“He is going to ruin this kingdom!  He wants us to play nice with these foreigners while they come through and destroy everything we have worked so hard to build!” the man said in a raised voice to call over the growing crowd.  His red hair blazed in the sun as he continued to rile the masses with his words, “They tell us that it is for our benefit but what benefit is there?  What good could possibly come out of Linburn merging with Rosemoore?”

At his words, Marie realised he was talking about King Gabriel, why was he so against the merging of the kingdoms?  She moved forwards, pushing her way through the gathered people, she made her way to the front but before she could do anything further more people started joining in with his rant.

“He is right!  If we merge we will lose our homes!”

“We could lose our jobs!”

“We would starve to death!”

Marie looked around her in disbelief, did they really believe merging with another country would be so bad?  She glanced up at the man still standing above them and chill ran down her spine, a sinister grin had crept upon his face and he seemed happy with the way the crowd was snowballing into disarray.

Before she knew what she was doing, Marie found herself standing next to him on the platform, raising her voice to the fear incited mob in front of her, “Listen!”

She was surprised at the strength of her own voice, in an instant the noise from the crowd had died down, “The merging of the two kingdoms will not be so bad!  You will not lose your homes!  You will not lose your jobs!  You will most certainly not starve to death!  Do you know why?  Because King Gabriel and Crown Prince Adrien will not allow that!”

She took a breath and in the split second it took for her to do that, the man still standing next to her spoke up, “And how would you know that woman?” he spat.

Marie turned on him, fire in her eyes, “Because I know them, I have spoken to them and they are good leaders.  They care for their people and they would rather die than let you, their people, suffer!”

He flinched at the force behind her words but stood tall against her, “Ah so you are just one of the mindless workers that lives in the castle, believing the rubbish they feed you each day.”

“I am not a mindless worker,” she growled, “I was saved by them, they allowed me to stay in the castle until I recovered and I have seen how kind they are, how caring.  Can you claim to have ensured an entire orphanage of children were adopted to good homes?  Can you claim to actually care for the people in this town?  You are causing them to go mad with fear!  What good will that do?  What you are doing is treason!”   Marie turned to the villagers, most of whom she could see had snapped out of the mob mentality that had captured them only moments ago, “You are all the beloved people of Linburn!  A proud and noble country that will never fall!  Even if we merge with Rosemoore, it means that we will have even more work to do, to make sure that our new brothers and sisters can live the comfortable lives that we enjoy here!”

The man turned to see that he had lost the crowd, he opened his mouth to try and win back their loyalties but Marie cut him off, “If you dare try anything like this again, I will make sure that you are arrested for inciting a mob, high treason and have you thrown in jail or banished from the country!” 

Before he could say anything in reply, she turned and walked off the platform.  The crowd parted for her this time as she made her way back to the fabric show where Tikki stood open mouthed.  Marie stopped at the counter and pulled out her coin purse to pay for her items but the clerk held out his hand.

“I couldn’t accept your money My Lady.  What you just did out there was very courageous and I couldn’t accept your money.”

Marie was stumped, “I didn’t do anything special.  I just did what was right.”

The store owner smiled, “And that My Lady, is what was so courageous.  Doing what was right, even if you could’ve been hurt.”

 

Tikki and Marie called goodbye to the man as they left his shop, arms laden with their purchases as they walked back up to the castle.  Tikki yammering on about how brave Marie was and how amazing her speech was.

Little did they realise that standing watch to the entire ordeal was an older man who was dressed in robes of a royal court adviser.  “Interesting,” he said to himself as he made his way through the village, “The King would want to know about what this girl just did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mainly set up for the next one, which is where things get interesting.


	11. The Lady and The Princess

The cave walls flickered from the open flame torch he carried, other torches were held in brackets on the walls the further he walked through the labyrinth of tunnels that he had made his home. He could hear voices echoing through the still air and as he turned a corner he saw a group of 50 men all dressed in rough travel clothes sitting around a large fire with a large deer carcass turning on the spit roast.

He strode over to a man who sat on a large padded chair away from the rest, his clothes in better condition and a pair of women chained to the chair legs dressed in rags. He ducked his head slightly in recognition on his superior and waited for him to speak.

The man was in his mid-30’s, dark black eyes pierced through the younger man giving him chills, “Chris,” he said, acknowledging the young man who stood in front of him, “What do you have to report?”

Chris swallowed nervously, “It started well, the villagers were eating out of my hand but someone else jumped in and managed to sway them away from me. I had to get out of there before I got arrested as they were from the castle itself,” he said dropping to his knees.

There was silence as all the other men gathered around in the cave stopped talking as the older man stood from his seat, kicking at the women at his feet as he strode past. He stopped in front of Chris, “Who was it?”

“Boss?”

“Who was it that caused you to fail in your task?” he asked again.

“I don’t know her name but I have seen her before. She is usually in the company of the Crown Prince and his entourage,” Chris said quickly, fearing the boot near his head.

“She? You were thwarted by a woman?” he snarled before reaching down and pulling Chris up by his red hair so that he faced the older man, “Tell me why you were beaten by a filthy woman?”

Tears were running down Chris’ face, he knew that he wasn’t going to survive this day and he started praying to whatever gods were out there to save him, “It was as if she had had training in that sort of thing, like the high born’s have,” he whimpered.

“What did she look like?”

“She had short dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin but it had lots of marks, like she had been in fights. She barely came up to my chest she was so short but she had this look about her, like she would be able to take anyone on and defeat them.” Abruptly, Chris felt the hand around his hair let go and he dropped to the ground in a sniveling mess.

“It cannot be, I killed that wretch!”

“Rollo?” another man asked as he moved over from where had been standing near the fire.

“Send out scouts to the village, make sure that there is at least one man from the group that attacked the carriage with me a few months ago. I need to make sure this isn’t the same girl!” Rollo ordered.

He looked down at Chris’ cowering body before kicking him roughly, “Get up,” he sneered, “You are going to join the scouts so you can point this girl out. If it is the same girl, you might be rewarded for bringing this information to me, she will be extremely valuable to our cause.”

 

 

“Marie, Marie!” The girl in question turned to see a small figure racing towards her, arms out as they leapt the last few steps and she dropped to her knees quickly to catch them. Theo looked up at Marie from where she cradled him in her arms, “I missed you!”

She laughed, “Theo, I was only gone for two weeks,” she tightened the hug nonetheless enjoying his enthusiasm.

“It was too long, I don’t want you to go away anymore,” he pouted before his head snapped up as they heard hurried footsteps heading towards them.

Marie looked at him, “Did you run away from your nanny again?” He nodded cheekily before looking around for a place to hide. Marie pointed to a chest that lined the wall, “Over there, I’ll cover for you.”

He bolted over and had barely closed the lid when an older woman rounded the corner panting, “Lady Marie! Please forgive me but have you seen the young Prince Theo? He has run off again and I can’t find him anywhere.”

“He has?” Marie said trying to keep a straight face, “Oh I am so sorry nanny but I haven’t seen him. If I do I will make sure that he is sent to his chambers immediately.”

The woman nodded in thanks before trotting off in the opposite direction, calling Theo’s name. Marie waited for a few moments before walking over to the chest and knocking the lid 4 times, “The coast is clear.”

The lid cracked open a sliver as Theo poked his head out to check for himself, once he had assured himself that he was free, he jumped out and beamed up at Marie. “So are you going to tell me why I just lied to your nanny?” she asked.

“They want me to do lessons, like how to sit still and who I need to bow to and all that boring stuff,” he huffed, crossing his arms.

Marie could understand how a 7 year old boy could find that boring and came up with an idea, “How about we let someone know that you are safe,” he started to object but she held up her hand so she could continue, “and then you and I go and practice those lessons together? I think I know enough about all that to be able to have some fun, right?”

 

After finding one of the guards and asking them to pass a message on that the young prince was safe and sound, she led him to the throne room, it had enough room that they could practice walking with their heads held high and how to hold arms as per court rules without an audience. They had been in the throne room for an hour when the doors swung open to reveal King Gabriel, both Marie and Theo bowed as they saw him and he made his way over to them.

Looking to Theo, have gave the boy a stern look for a moment before chuckling, “How long were you able to escape nanny this time?”

Theo looked up at his father, “20 minutes before I ran into Marie who helped-“ He stopped not wanting to get her in trouble for lying, “helped me with my lessons. She is a great teacher father!”

Gabriel looked at Marie and she knew that he had caught the lie but he decided not to call the boy on it, “Thank you Lady Marie for helping my son with his lessons, though I think you should go apologize to nanny, she was very upset this time.” Theo gave Marie another hug before running off to find his nanny.

Gabriel smiled after the boy, “Adrien was the same, if not worse. The poor woman, I wonder some days if she isn’t a little insane from the tricks the boys play on her,” he turned to Marie and lowered his voice, “mind you I was just as bad but don’t tell anyone.” Marie giggled as he winked at her.

After the laughter had died down, he turned to her, “Lady Marie, I have been meaning to ask how your trip through the kingdom was? Did you regain any more of your memories?”

“No your Excellency, I did not recover any more memories, but I did get a chance to see your wonderful kingdom. Though….” She paused unsure if she should continue.

“Though?” Gabriel prompted.

“In the two weeks that Lady Alya, Lord Nino and I traveled throughout your kingdom, the amount of bandit activity that we saw was alarming. We found 3 villages destroyed, another half dozen paying the bandits money not to destroy them, we were ambushed twice and I have to say that I am surprised that the number wasn’t higher. I wonder if I might be so bold as to ask what your plan is to get rid of these monsters.”

The king was silent for some time, Marie was worried she had spoken too freely and that he would ask her to leave, when he nodded to himself, “Lady Marie, would you please accompany me? I have some people who I think you should meet.”

 

Marie found herself walking through a section of the castle she had never seen before, it was the King’s private wing where he held meetings of high importance and his own private chambers. He led her into a room with an ornate table in the middle which had the layout of Linburn burned into it like a map. Sitting around the room were a small group of men, some she didn’t recognize other than their robes which identified them as royal advisors and others she did recognize, Lord Ivan the Captain of the Royal Guard was there in full dress armour and Adrien was standing next to the largest chair in the room where Gabriel sat.

He gestured to the men in the room before asking Marie to sit in the chair opposite Adrien, “Gentleman I would like to introduce the Lady Marie, she will be joining us in our meeting today. My Lady, may I introduce, Lord Fu my most trusted advisor, Lord Ivan the Captain of my guard and you already know my son Adrien.” She nodded to each man as she was introduced and when Gabriel pointed at Adrien she saw that his expression was of shock.

“The Lady Marie has proven to have a sharp mind and a knack for asking the right questions. I have invited her to join our council to help us with the kingdoms problems. I trust her completely and if what Fu’s report of her performance in the town square a few weeks ago was anything to go by, she is willing to risk her own safety to protect our kingdom.”

Marie ducked her head and blushed at his words, she remembered standing in front of the mob and defending Gabriel and Adrien but still didn’t think she had done anything special.

“Now,” Gabriel continued, “We have a few matters to discuss so let’s start. Lord Ivan, what is the situation with the bandits?”

Lord Ivan stood, “My King, the situation is become more and more difficult to control, I cannot continue to protect the outlying regions with the men I have at my disposal. The bandit’s numbers are growing too quickly for us to keep up, more and more men join them either out of fear or greed every day.”

“Are there more men to conscript into the guard?” Fu asked.

“There are, but it would take months to train them to be ready to fight,” Ivan replied frowning.

“Could we ask the people to fight?” Adrien asked

A knock came at the door, “Come in,” Gabriel said in a raised voice. A young messenger strode in with a sealed envelope in hand, “An urgent message for you, your Excellency,” he said before handing over the paper and leaving the room.

Gabriel tore the seal, which Marie saw was in the shape of a rose, scanned the page and let out a sharp intake of breath which stole Marie out of her thoughts.

“Father? What is it? What has happened?” Adrien asked.

Gabriel placed the page down on the table, “The Princess of Rosemoore-“ he started.

“What about her father?”

“My King?”

“Sire?”

Marie held her tongue, she wasn’t the biggest fan of the princess and didn’t like to draw attention to herself whenever the other woman was mentioned.

Gabriel tried again, “The Princess of Rosemoore is missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins.
> 
> I can't believe that we are already half way through this story! 
> 
> I hope everyone is enjoying this and you are feeling creative I would love to see any fanart etc.
> 
> Check me out on tumblr under stephaniebithell


	12. Meeting the King and Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i just re read the chapter and have to apologize, i totally forgot to add a few sections that change a few things and introduce 2 new characters! 
> 
> I blame my sleep deprived brain at midnight for totally forgetting such important plot points.
> 
> Please forgive me!
> 
> I have updated the chapter to what it should be now!

The sound of the horse’s hooves hitting the stone road echoed through Adrien’s mind, it had been three weeks since he had been sitting in his father’s council room when the news of the Princess Marinette’s disappearance had arrived.  He still remembered the feeling of hope he had felt for just a moment that maybe the wedding would be called off before he felt sick for hoping such horrors on this poor girl, what kind of man was he if he was willing to let an innocent girl suffer for his happiness.

His father had immediately called an emergency meeting with all the high ranking lords of the kingdom before issuing a decree.  All the noble houses would search their region in hopes that the princess was in hiding there, with all the bandit activity it was quite possible that she had been attacked during her travels.

He can remember his father re-reading the letter to the assembled Lords, “It says here that she was in the middle of her first official solo tour of her kingdom as Crown Princess and that once she was done she was to travel to Linburn to meet Adrien.” 

She had left 6 months prior and the whole trip shouldn’t have taken more than 3 to complete, when the King and Queen hadn’t heard anything they started to worry and when Gabriel’s message inviting the princess to join them arrived they knew something had gone wrong.

Gabriel had ordered Adrien to travel to Rosemoore to speak with the King and Queen, to get as much information as he could about his missing fiancé and to investigate her disappearance, if there was any chance of finding her alive they had to do it soon.

A shout from one of the guards ahead pulled him from his thoughts, his eyes widened as he took in the castle resting on top of a hill, the town below it was just as large as the one from his home, if not larger.  He could see flags everywhere, they all held the same crest, a blue background with four red flowers in a square with the words Strength and Luck above them and Dupain-Cheng underneath.  This was the royal crest of the kingdom of Rosemoore, he had arrived in the capital.

He was stunned at the simple extravagance that shone throughout the castle, while he knew that the King and Queen were extremely rich, they didn’t show it off, instead the few items that did decorate the halls were humble but powerful in their meaning,  _we don’t need to show our wealth to prove we are powerful_.  He was following a servant to the great hall along with his body guard for the trip, Kim, one the guards he had grown up with and trusted completely.

When they reached the great hall they saw two figures sitting on thrones on the raised dais, a handful of guards were scattered around with one small figure standing immediately to the right of the seated figures dressed in full armour, Adrien assumed it was the captain of their guard.

He bowed to the King and Queen as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, “Good evening your majesties, I would like to give you my deepest condolences for this unfortunate situation along with my father’s, King Gabriel.  I would also like to thank you for your kind hospitality for allowing me to stay in this magnificent kingdom of yours.”

Adrien knew the King and Queen wouldn’t care for the niceties that usually came from a royal visit but he had been trained to do it no matter what the situation.  King Tom was the first to speak, “Welcome Crown Prince Adrien, I would like to introduce you to my wife, Queen Sabine.”  King Tom was a very imposing man, he was twice as tall as Adrien and three times as wide but from all accounts it was Queen Sabine who you had to watch out for.  What she lacked up for in size, she was smaller than some of the women he had grown up with, she made up for in ferocity in her words and sharpness of her mind.

King Tom continued, “I will get the Captain of my Royal Guard to escort you and your men to your chambers for the duration of your stay,” Adrien glanced at them both before he eyes flickered to the figure who had chosen that time to move into the light and he felt his eyes grow wide with shock.

The captain of the guard was a woman!  She had short pink hair and piercing ice blue eyes, and her hand seemed to live on the handle of her sword.  “I am Lady Alix, Captain of the Royal Guard, please remember that you are no longer in your own kingdom and that you will have to respect our laws here,” she said sternly.

“Of course, we wouldn’t dream of disturbing your kingdom.  Before we retire to our rooms for the evening, sire, do you have any paintings of the Princess?  I am afraid we do not know what she looks like and it may make it harder to locate her.”

He heard the Queen giggle for a moment, “I am sorry, Prince Adrien, do you not remember visiting us every summer for weeks when you were a child?”

Adrien was silent for a moment, “No, your majesty, I don’t.”

“Well you and your mother would come and visit us every year.  Your mother, bless her soul, and I were girlhood friends and when we became married and eventually mothers, we never let our duties get in the way of our friendship.  She would bring you here and you and Marinette would play for days on end, getting into all sorts of mischief until you exhausted yourselves and we would find you curled up in a random room hours later,” Queen Sabine explained.

“Follow us, we had a portrait done just before she left,” King Tom said as he helped his wife from her seat and they led the way down a maze of hallways until they came across an enormous painting of the most beautiful woman Adrien had ever laid eyes on.  Her long dark hair came down to past her waist, her sky blue eyes he felt he could get lost in them and her smile, it promised happiness and heartache if you so much as put a toe out of line.

“She is beautiful,” he sighed a small tingle of recognition surged in the back of his brain but he assumed it was due to knowing her when they were small children.

“She is also strong and resourceful so even if something has happened to her, I know she will make the best of the situation she finds herself in,” Queen Sabine said, “Do you recognise her now?”

Adrien shook his head, “No but I am sure that when I meet her in person I will.”

 

The next few days Adrien and his guards spent their days combing the land for clues as to the whereabouts of the princess to no avail.  Every day their spirits dropped as they returned back to the castle emptyhanded. 

“Surely there must be something we are missing!” Adrien said in frustration as he paced in his chambers as Kim sat on the chair provided, “We have tracked every move she made while on tour in this kingdom, nothing seems out of place.” 

He dropped to the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands, “Kim, what are we going to do?”

“We have been tracking the Princess but maybe we should be tracking those who were travelling with her as well,” Kim suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“Well the Princess would stick out like a sore thumb with all those flashy clothes and carridge, so maybe if there were attacked or her guard thought they were going to be attacked they would have made her go undercover as a low bord to avoid attention.  Abandon the carriage and all the horses, stay in barns and small towns, avoid the open road and travel by night.  That is what I would do with you if you were in danger,” Kim explained.

“Huh, I never thought about it like that,” Adrien said smiling at his friend, “I am glad you are here Kim.”

“Well we will just have to find out more about her travelling companions from people here in the castle before we head out again,” Kim said before standing, “You should get some rest, you have been working yourself to the bone these past few days and you won’t be any good to us dead on your feet.”

“Yes sir,” Adrien said as he saluted Kim in a friendly manner.  Once Kim had left the room Adrien felt the walls close in on him and he needed to get some fresh air. 

 

He had found his way into a courtyard on the interior of the castle, he realised that he wasn’t alone in the garden when he heard a familiar tune echoing off the stone walls.  He rounded the corner and saw the Queen Sabine sitting on bench humming to herself as she plucked a flower.

“What is that tune you are humming?” Adrien asked quietly.

The Queen looked at him, “Do you recognise it?  Your mother came up with it when we were young girls growing up together.  She used to sing it to you to calm you down when you were just a babe,” she smiled sadly, “We used to sing it you both when you were children whenever you and your mother would visit.”

Adrien felt a chill run down his spine as she rubbed her eyes, trying to hide the tears building there, “My Marinette even came up with some words for it….”

The tears fell unhindered now, she turned to hide her face from him and he felt his heart break for the distraught woman, “I am sorry if I have brought up sad memories your majesty,” he apologised, walking to stand next to her, placing his arms around her small body.

“No, don’t apologise, they are happy memories but the thought that she is out there somewhere, possibly hurt or worse is what upsets me.  Please help me find my daughter, I cannot lose her,” she begged.

Adrien held her in his arms, “Of course I will help you that is why I am here.  Now let us get to work.”

 

Adrien and Kim were being escorted to where the King and Queen awaited them, after their late night talk Adrien had asked Queen Sabine for more information on Marinette’s companions.  She had informed him that in the morning she and the King would be able to give him that information and after he had quickly eaten his meal, a servant appeared to escort them.

They turned a corner and spotted the royal couple standing in front of another painting, this one depicted two girls and a boy.  The two girls were almost identical, they both had long dark hair, the same blue eyes and matching smirks as if they were in the middle of telling a joke, the boy on the other hand was taller with short blonde hair and sharp green eyes and he seemed to be more reserved than the girls he was forced to stand next to.

“Who are they?” Adrien asked as he took in the image.

“This is our daughter Marinette with her cousins, Bridgette and Felix,” King Tom explained, “The girls were only born a few weeks apart and Felix is a year younger than them.  Bridgette was also Marinette’s hand maiden and she was travelling with her and the contingent of guards.  Felix was supposed to join them but was called to a diplomatic meeting with one of our Lords at the last minute.”

“Where is he now?” Adrien asked, turning to look at the King and Queen.

“He is working with our nobility to search for the girls, he was very fond of them both and has been affected by their loss.  I worry about him,” Queen Sabine replied.

If something has happened to the girls and they don’t come back, Felix is to become the new heir of the kingdom,” the King said amost as an afterthought.

Adrien looked back at the painting, he tried to remember which one of the girls was Marinette and which one was Bridgette, but even though they had just been pointed out he couldn’t tell one from the other.  He wondered how their parents had survived their childhood if the hints of their shenanigans was anything to go by.

 

With his new information Adrien and his guards returned to the search, more determined than ever to find the missing carridge and all those who it carried, but after another two weeks of scouring the land there was nothing to report.

“I am very sorry your majesties, I couldn’t find any trace of the Princess Marinette or any of her travelling companions,” Adrien said on their final day in Rosemoore, he had combed every inch of the kingdom until he knew it better than his own.

“We can only thank you for all the hard work you have done in the time you have been here.  Perhaps you will have more luck back in your own kingdom,” King Tom said, the Queen had sent word she couldn’t attend the farewell ceremony.

“I hope so too.  We should be off, I am sure that my father is keen for me to be home again,” Adrien said as he bowed to the King.

It would be another three week trek through the country before he made it home and he hoped that things back there had settled down from all the chaos that seemed to be coming from them left, right and centre.  He put his foot in the stirrup and swung his other leg over the saddle, once he had gathered the reigns he gave Kim the signal to move out.


	13. Hopes and Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were one of the first to read the last chapter, I beg you to go and re-read it as I realised some time later that I made a major mistake and left out over 800 words including the introduction of 2 new characters!
> 
> I deeply apologise and hope that you will forgive me in this error (this will teach me for staying up to midnight writing and posting without checking my work!)
> 
> As for this chapter, I believe I have made up for the past few chapters angst with some major character development and plot movement, the end goal is starting to show and we only have 7 chapters to go (one of them is an epilogue) so hold on to your pants ladies and gentleman as this will be a rough ride.

“Mama?”

“Yes my sweet?”

“Do you think I will be brave when I grow up?”

“I know you will be brave when you grow up.  Now rest your head little one, you had a long day and you need to sleep.”

“I love you mama.”

“I love you too.”

 

Marie watched as the woman tucked her young daughter into the bed, she knew that this must be a dream as the scene faded to black.  She drifted for what felt like an age watching different scenes play out in front of her, small children playing in a garden, riding a horse with a pair of larger arms wrapping around them holding them safe, walking through a forest with a dog, when a bright light began to shine far away, it grew larger and larger as it encased her and she had to close her eyes from the glare. 

 

When Marie opened her eyes she saw she was in a large ball room, the room had a golden glow to it and as she looked down she noticed she was in a beautiful dark blue ball gown, her hands were covered in a matching pair of elbow length gloves and her short hair was pinned back and she could feel the cold touch of jewelry on her neck and ears.  The room was filled with people all dressed up, the men in suits and the women like she was, it felt similar to the ball that was held for Adrien’s birthday and as she walked around she could hear music playing as people started to dance.  She looked around for anyone that she might know or a clue as to where she was when she saw Nino, Alya and Adrien all standing to one side of the room laughing and clinking their drinking glasses. 

 

Marie started to walk towards her friends when she felt a chill run through her, she turned just in time to see a man with his face covered swinging his sword where her head had been a moment ago.  She screamed loudly as she fell over and kicked at her attacker, she turned to look at her friends to beg for help but they hadn’t even turned to look at her, she scrambled to her feet trying to escape and ducked behind a pair of dancers.  The man swung his sword through the couple and cut them down with ease, Marie was covered in their blood and she screamed again as she turned and tried to find an exit.  She slipped in the blood that was still pouring out of the couple that had just been killed and she sprawled to the ground lying in their blood, she felt the man pull her up by her hair and touched his blade to her throat.

 

“Any last words?” he snarled.

 

She looked up and saw her friends now standing in front of her, still laughing and talking between themselves.  Adrien turned to look at her with a pitiful look, “ADRIEN!” she screamed as she felt the blade slice through her neck and everything went black.

 

 

She sat up abruptly, looking around Marie saw that she was back in her room, the candles had gone out from the breeze that had blown open the doors to her balcony.

 

“MARIE!?!” A voice called as the door to the hallway burst open and Adrien strode in sword in hand.  He quickly took in his surroundings and once he determined that there was no immediate threat to him or Marie he relaxed slightly.  “What happened?  I heard you screaming.”

 

“Bad dream,” she said, pulling her legs up to her body and wrapping her arms around them.

 

Adrien sheathed his sword and walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Marie, “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“I- I don’t know,” she admitted. 

 

“I know that when I have bad dreams it helps me to talk to someone about them, sometimes just saying the words out loud makes them a lot less scary,” he said softly, his hand hovered in the air as if he wanted to touch her in reassurance but wasn’t sure if she would allow this.

 

“C-can you close the doors?” she asked looking over the balcony.

 

“Of course,” he replied as he got off the bed and moved over to do as she asked.  As he was doing that, Marie climbed out from underneath the covers and put on her robe covering her nightgown.  She then grabbed the match that Tikki had left her if she needed to light the candles during the night and proceeded to light every candle in her room.

 

Once the room was secure and bright enough for her to feel safer, she sat down on the lounge inviting Adrien who had been standing awkwardly to one side to sit next to her.

 

“Do you mind if I lean against you?” she asked as he got comfortable.

 

“Not at all,” he said opening his arms so that she could curl up into him.

 

As he waited patiently for her to start talking, Adrien rubbed his thumb on her shoulder, Marie leaned into his body even further than she already was and he could feel her relaxing.

 

“I don’t really know what happened,” she started, “at first it was all these different scenes, like watching someone’s life flash before me but only small snippets and never in detail.  Then it changed and I was at an extravagant party, like the one for your birthday a few months ago, I was walking around when I saw you, Nino and Alya all having fun without me.  When I went to talk to you,” a shiver ran down her spine, “a-a man attacked me, h-he was t-trying to k-kill me.”

 

Tears were falling down her face by now, Adrien could feel his shirt becoming saturated but he couldn’t care, Marie was upset and he didn’t know what else he could do to help her, “Did he hurt you?”

 

She stiffened, “H-he k-killed some people w-who were dancing and I-I slipped in their b-blood.  H-he g-grabbed my h-hair and p-pulled me up.  Y-you all were just s-standing there as h-he put his s-sword to my n-neck.  I-I called for y-you b-but you j-just w-watched as h-he………….”  she took a deep breath before finishing, “s-slit m-my t-throat.”

 

Adrien’s grip around her tightened as he heard her words, “I heard you yell my name.  I just returned from Rosemoore and was on my way back to my chambers and decided to take the long way to help clear my head when I heard you crying out.  I thought someone was attacking you in your room but I guess I was just a little off on my assumption.”

 

Marie lifted her head to look at him, “Thank you for coming to rescue me,” she said.

 

“I will always come for you My Lady,” he replied as he stared into her eyes, seeing the trust that she had placed in him.  He lowered his head so that their foreheads touched, not sure if he should continue he hesitated but Marie tilted her head to meet his and at that moment, their lips touched.

 

The kiss was soft and tender, Marie could feel her body warm the moment they connected, she could feel Adrien’s hands gripping her body causing a good kind of pain, one that only heightened the kiss.  She began to kiss him harder, pouring all her love and soul into the intimate act, she knew the moment either one of them drew away things would be different and she wasn’t ready for this to end. 

 

Eventually Adrien pulled away to be able to breathe, both of them had pink tinges on their cheeks and were breathing heavily from the intense couple of minutes of kissing.  Marie looked up at him, she had never felt more in love than in that moment and all thoughts of her nightmare were gone.

 

“I-I,” Adrien tried to speak but Marie put her finger to his lips silencing him.

 

“Don’t say it, I know we shouldn’t have done that but please just let me keep the memory of tonight,” she said, laying her head back down on his chest closing her eyes.   Adrien didn’t know what else to do but accept her affection and hold her.  He decided that he would stay until she had fallen asleep and then he would slip out before anyone caught him in her room, he started to hum the lullaby that had been haunting him since he first met this amazing girl in his arms.  He glanced at the ceiling trying to work out what he was going to do, he was engaged to a princess who was missing but he was in love with and had just kissed the woman in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I do have a confession to make this entire chapter was not planned, I totally made all of this up on the spot as I wanted to make up my last few chapters to you so I present the KISS! 
> 
> Now this has changed a little of how I was originally planning to have Marie and Adrien act after the engagement announcement but I like this way better as I feel that even though they want to do the right thing, they can't deny the chemistry between them. There may be some internal conflict on both sides as what they are doing is wrong and they know it but god dam it I want my ship to sail!!!!!!
> 
> Well I better get back to the salt mines and start writing the next chapter as I am trying to channel all the inspiration I have for this fic while I have it!


	14. Swordsmanship

Marie could feel something moving against her, gently lifting her body and the subtle rocking movement, the sensation of being touched was most evident around her legs and back as she curled into the warm embrace.  She was lowered down onto a soft surface that had a slight chill to it, her head resting on something akin to a cloud, something was draped over her body.  She stirred slightly from her sleep induced haze to realise she had been carried from the lounge where she had fallen asleep and placed back in her bed.

Fingers touched her hair, pulling it away from her face as the person who had carried her leaned in and kissed her cheek, “Sleep tight My Lady,” Adrien murmured as he pulled back, tucking her into her blankets before slipping out of her room.  She curled up into a tighter ball, a smile gracing her face as she drifted back to sleep.

 

She woke the next morning when Tikki burst into the room as she usually did, though normally Marie was awake and waiting for the young girl.

“Marie?  Are you ill?” Tikki asked as she realised her charge was still in bed.

“No, I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, that’s all,” Marie replied as she lifted the blankets and paddled over to her dresser, “Sorry, I normally have my hair brushed by now don’t I?”

Tikki nodded in the mirror before grabbing the brush and drawing through Marie’s hair, “Your hair is starting to grow out.  Did you want to keep it short or let it grow?”

“I think I like my hair short, it is so much easier to manage.  What do you think?”

“I agree, short hair suits you well.  Now let’s get going if you are going to make breakfast on time.  Adrien returned late last night from his travels so he should be there with you and King Gabriel.” 

Tikki had no way of knowing that Marie already knew of Adrien’s return and Marie felt her face flush with the memory of what happened the night before.  The tender touch as he held her as she cried, the smell of his skin as he leaned in, the hesitation as he tried to do the right thing before she met him and tipped them both over the edge.

“Marie?  Are you ok?  Your face is all red, do you need some air?” Tikki asked in quick succession.

Marie shook her head, “I am fine Tikki.  Just thinking is all.  Now what are you going to dress me up in today?”

 

Breakfast had been an interesting affair, Gabriel sat at the head of the table as usual with Adrien to his right and Marie to his left.  Marie made a point of acting normal, or at least as normal as she thought she could be, while Adrien seemed to be not even trying to restrain himself at glancing at her every few minutes.  After the hot part of their meal had been served Gabriel started asking Adrien about his trip and the kingdom of Rosemoore.

“I am sorry Father, I failed to find the princess but I have uncovered some clues which I have already passed onto the teams searing here.  I was going to take today to re-evaluate everything we know before heading out tomorrow and joining the search parties,” Adrien had said as he picked at the fruit sitting on his plate.

Gabriel had watched his son before replying, “I think that is a good idea to rest and recover today, you never know what a new day can bring.”

Marie pondered Gabriel’s words as she walked the castle with Tikki not really heading anywhere in particular.

“Marie!”

She looked up at her name being called to see Alya standing ahead of them waving.  She looked to Tikki who join her in running up to see their friend.

“Alya, good morning,” they greeted as they all embraced.

“I heard the boys were practicing in the courtyard this morning, did you want to join me in watching them?” she asked pointing to the area that was usually referred to as the practice ring.

“Yes!” Tikki said quickly before ducking her head in embarrassment from the knowing looks the others gave her.

“You just want to see Plagg again, don’t you?” Alya teased kindly.

“Well you just want to see Nino,” Tikki shot back.

Marie laughed at them both before walking past them.  She called over her shoulder, “Well are you two lovebirds coming or what?”

 

The clacking sound of wooden training swords echoed throughout the courtyard as Adrien and Nino sparred against each other neither one giving ground.  They were in constant motion, never staying in one place for more than a moment as their opponent would try and use their hesitation against the other.

Marie, Alya and Tikki had been watching from a safe distance while the boys became drenched in sweat from their extreme workout.  Suddenly Nino cried out as Adrien disarmed him in a lightning fast move that had allowed him to swing his sword underneath Nino’s hand and flick the weapon away from him.

It clattered to the ground just in front of where the girls were standing watch, Marie bent to pick it up and as she held the wooden object in her hand a sense of familiarity flowed through her.  She turned the blade around getting a feel for the weight and density of the wood, it felt so natural to hold yet she had no memory of ever even holding one in her life.

The boys walked over still panting as they grabbed the towels to dry their heads.  Adrien looked at Marie as she stared at the sword in her hand, “Marie?”

She looked up in surprise, “Oh, sorry, I was off in my own little world,” she paused, “Do you think I could have a go?”

Adrien looked at Nino, “What do you think Nino?”

Nino shrugged, “I don’t see why not, it isn’t like there is any rule against girls playing with practice swords.”

Adrien smiled as he turned back to face Marie, “Well you heard the man, I can go easy on you if you want,” he offered but she shook her head, “No Adrien, I want you to come at me like you did with Nino.”

“Ok….” Adrien said cautiously as he moved to stand in the middle of the room.  Marie moved to stand opposite him and tried to mimic how Adrien was standing in preparation for the fight.  “Ready?” he called to her, “Yes,” she replied as he dashed over to her in an instant and swung his sword at her body. 

The instant she raised hers to block it a sharp pain rain through her head, she dropped to the ground and cradled her head in her hands as images flashed across her sight.  Running through the forest, holding a rusty sword as she kicked out at a man standing above her, standing in a parade ground in light armour with a glistening blade in her hand, training with a wooden sword with others watching on from the sidelines, standing next to a noble woman in the armour again hand on sword in a threatening position and then she was back in the courtyard with her friends hovering over her as she knelt on the ground groaning in pain.

“rie?  Marie?  What happened?” Adrien was calling as he tried to pry her hands away from her head, his face contorted with worry.

She looked around confused for a moment before she realised what had happened, “I-I saw something.”

“A memory?”

“I was a warrior, I think I might have been a protector of a noble woman,” she said as she rose to her feet collecting the sword on her way up.  The feeling of familiarity as she held the weapon was overwhelming now, she smiled as she gripped the handle before glancing at Adrien.

“Let’s go again,” she said.

“But you just collapsed!” he exclaimed, “You should sit down!”

“What?  Are you afraid I will beat you?” she challenged.

He blanched at her words before smirking back at her, “Fine, but if you faint again little lady, it isn’t on my head.”

Nino ushered the others to safety as the two fighters, Adrien in his training gear and Marie in her corset, skirts and heels, dropped into different fighting poses and without a word they both sprung forwards and met in the middle, the wooden swords groaning as they pushed against the other in a challenge of strength. 

Adrien grunted in surprise at Marie’s strength, “What were you doing while I was away?  Training with Lord Ivan?”

Marie smiled, “No, I was practicing my needlework.”

Marie twisted her blade slightly which caused Adrien’s to lose the grip it had against hers and as it slide away he lost his balance which Marie used to her advantage to change the grip of her sword by flipping the blade to face the other way and having the blade face behind her she knocked Adrien’s blade away from, just like had done to Nino earlier.

The blade flew through the air and landed heavily on the ground in front of another spectator, King Gabriel.

 

“Your majesty!” Marie called as she dropped into a low bow.

“Father?” Adrien said as he mimicked Marie.

“What is going on here?” Gabriel asked looking between the two young people, noticing Marie was still holding onto her sword.

“I was just teaching Marie how to use a sword,” Adrien said, “She was interested and I-“ whatever he was going to say was lost as he looked at his father stumped as the older man doubled over in laughter.

“You were teaching her?” he chuckled, “More likely that she was teaching you, my son.”

Adrien stumbled over his words, trying to come up with a suitable answer as Gabriel turned to Marie, “Where did you learn to fight like that?  It isn’t one of the fighting styles I am familiar with.”

“Honestly your majesty, I only remember the style and a few other little things, not where I learnt it,” she replied.

“You regained your memory?” he said in surprise.

She shook her head, “Only one portion of it, I remember protecting a noble lady and training with other female fighters.  I also remember running in a forest and being attacked.”

She hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I wonder if you would consider letting me train some of the Ladies of Court how to defend themselves?”

“Why would you want to do that?” he asked curiously.

“Because I believe that all women should be able to defend themselves in case of an attack.  Just think, say someone attacked a carriage carrying a noble family, the lady would be able to defend herself and any children with them which would leave the men free to confront the attackers head on without having to hold back and you would lose less fighters that way,” she explained.

Gabriel considered her words for a time before nodding to himself, “Alright, Marie you will be in charge of training all the noble ladies who are willing to learn.  I will give you 3 months to prove that this is a viable method and if so, I will ensure that all noble women are trained alongside the boys as they grow up.  Adrien, I want you to help Marie in any way you can.”

“But Father, I am supposed to be looking for the Princess,” Adrien protested halfheartedly.

“I release you from that duty, I am sure that there are plenty of people who are looking for her and if you find anything during your duties here I expect you to report it to the others.”

Marie beamed at him as he nodded to them all before striding away.

“I didn’t realise that he could laugh like that,” Nino said as they all began to laugh together.


	15. Finding the carriage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to dedicate this chapter to @miraculous_riley for their suggestion for the necklace scene at the end. Thanks for the idea, it definitely helped in writing this chapter and became a key plot point.

In the month following, Marie and Adrien spent their time training the young and some not so young noble women who wanted to learn how to fight.  Marie was surprised to find that there was at least a dozen women who felt like it was their right to be able to defend themselves and their children, including, unsurprisingly, Alya, Duchess Chloe and Lord Ivan’s wife the Lady Mylene.

They trained the ladies on how to hold a sword correctly, stand in a defensive position and how to use their smaller size and agility to their advantages.  When they would practice an actual fight, Adrien always volunteered to be the bandit, something that at first made their students uneasy about until he told them that he had been ordered by the King to help them and this was the best way to do that, after that not one of them hesitated to strike the young prince down.

 

“Ow,” Adrien groaned from where he sat on his horse, rubbing a spot on his shoulder where young Rose had stuck him the day before during training.  She was the smallest and youngest of their students but surprisingly quick and had quite a force behind her.

Marie giggled at his halfhearted complaining, knowing that he was just as proud of all the girls as she was, “Well maybe you shouldn’t have goaded the girl into attacking you like that.”

“How was I supposed to know that she was actually in love with Juleka?” Adrien moaned, he did regret saying the words but only for the embarrassment that he had caused the girls as Juleka was Lady Rose’s attendant. 

He had always seen them together looking like a couple would and had decided to tease the girls about it saying that they loved each other, only to be on the ground groaning in pain before realizing that Rose had knocked him onto his back with her sword and surprising strength.  Both she and Juleka were bright red for the rest of the session and Adrien had apologized profusely to them both for outing their secret like he did, they had both forgiven him but he still felt bad.

“Well it doesn’t matter, you still shouldn’t have said that to her,” Alya piped up from where she and Nino were riding side by side.  Marie could hear the muffled cackle of Plagg before a thump and a cry of pain, curtesy of Tikki, as they brought up the rear of their group.

 

They had decided to take the day off and go riding in the woods as there were all starting to chafe at being restricted to riding in the castle grounds and Adrien argued that the horses needed to stretch their legs.  Gabriel forbid it at first due to the increased bandit activity in the area but then Adrien countered that they now had 5 of the 6 being trained in how to fight, Gabriel didn’t need to know that Marie had been teaching Tikki in private, and that they were more than capable of fending off any attackers.  Gabriel finally relented on the condition that if they saw any evidence of trouble there were to immediately return to the safety of the castle and not to go ‘gallivanting off on some heroic deed’.

They had been following the river for about an hour now, warming the horses up before they let them run.  They arrived at a crossroad where a bridge had been built to allow travelers to cross the river and the path continued on following the river.

“Which way?” Plagg called, still rubbing the back of his head from the earlier smack.

“Into the woods,” Marie said as she stared into the dense tree line, a sense of déjà vu seeping through her.

“But there isn’t a path into the woods,” Adrien said softly.

“There is, right there,” Marie said pointing to a thin overgrown path that was hidden behind a larger tree trunk.

“Are you sure?” Alya asked as she glanced into the path that grew darker the further it went.

“I think I have been here before,” Marie said as she tried to shake the feeling of dread.

“But this isn’t anything more than a hunters trail,” Alya said.

“I know but still,” was the only reply she got before Marie squeezed her legs and encouraged her horse to start walking.

 

Marie could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, something was here in the woods with her, something just out of sight.  She could hear the others following her as they slowly walked their horses through the thickening foliage, the branches of the trees so low that they had to duck their heads constantly to avoid being knocked off.  Abruptly the path opened up into a round clearing, the sun was shining, there were small animals basking in the warmth, the grass was green with a myriad of colourful flowers dotting the ground, it felt wrong to have something so serene in such a dark place.

Marie swung herself out of the saddle and as her feet touched the ground she felt the surge of familiarity wash over her dropping her to her knees from the force.  She could see herself running through this clearing, panting heavily as she was thrown to the ground, she turned herself over to look at her attacker only to see a hideous man looming over her with a sword raised, the twilight of nightfall glowing around them as she kicked out and hit him in the groin.

By the time she had stood back up Adrien was by her side, grasping her arm for support, “Did you get another memory?”

She nodded, still winded from the strength of the emotions that came with the memory, “I think this is close to where I was attacked.”  She felt Adrien’s grip tighten before he released her arm and take a deep calming breath.

“Are you ok?  Do you want to turn back?” he asked once he had calmed himself down.

“I want to find out what happened to me,” she said before looking around trying to find something that would give her a clue.  She spotted an old oak tree that had been slashed by something sharp some time ago, the closer she got to the tree the nauseous feeling in her stomach grew stronger.

“This way,” she said, as the others secured the horses in the clearing, the path she had chosen was no longer big enough for them to fit.

She looked behind her and took Adrien’s hand, she felt wrong being here and being able to touch him soothed her slightly.  The path was nothing more than a track that small animals use, she could feel her skirts pulling and tearing from the low lying ferns and brambles, the further they went the sicker she felt until she stopped suddenly. 

She felt all the blood drain from her face as she saw something white gleaming in the undergrowth, Adrien crouched down and moved the bush aside and she bit back a yelp as a human skull looked back at her.

“What is it?” Nino called from where he was leading the others through the brush.

“A human skull,” Adrien replied before looking ahead, straining to see what lay before them.  Something caught his eye as he drew his sword and looked to Marie until she did the same.  “There is something ahead, be careful,” he called back to Nino in a hushed tone.

They slowly crept forward, trying not to make a sound, as they pushed back the last fern they revealed a horrifying sight.  Strewn across a new pathway, was a carriage, its wheels had been thrown loose and the doors where ripped off their hinges.  Scattered all around it were human skeletons, their tattered clothes still hung on the bones and weapons in their hands.

“Whatever happened here, it was a massacre,” Plagg said as Tikki whimpered and turned into him to cry.

“Marie?  Was this your carriage?” Alya asked as Adrien and Nino both moved forwards to investigate the area.

“I-I think it was,” she replied before she felt the wave of familiarity start to form and she grabbed Alya’s hand for support in preparation.

She was riding in the carriage, bouncing along as she chatted to the girl sitting opposite her, they were both dressed in beautiful dresses that were suitable for travel and the girl in front of her had long dark hair and blue eyes.  The girl was speaking though Marie couldn’t make out the words as she saw herself hand over a necklace that had a pendant with the word Bridgette on it as the other girl handed her a pendant she recognized as hers that had Marinette engraved on it.

As she broke out of the memory, Marie felt a chill run down her spine, “I think I know what happened to the princess.”

She wandered over to the carriage, looking inside she resisted the urge to be sick, calling Adrien and the others to her she pointed inside and they all saw what she had discovered.  Lying on the bottom of the carriage was a skeleton, the dress was aged but she recognized it from the memory as the one the other girl was wearing, around the neck was the pendant that said Bridgette.

She looked away from the door and noticed something on the ground, covered in dirt and stained with old blood was a piece of gold metal with the letters  _nette_.  She held out her broken pendant and held the new piece up to it and they fit perfectly, _Marinette_  was the full name and she heard Alya gasp as she looked over Marie’s shoulder at the necklace.

“Marie are you….” She started before Marie shook her head.

“No, I think the poor soul in the carriage is Marinette, I remember riding in it with her and handing her the necklace she was wearing and she handed me this one.  We must have swapped them for some reason, perhaps for safety so that if someone attacked her, they would come for me instead since I was her bodyguard.”

“You were also her cousin,” Adrien said sadly, “If that is Marinette then you must be Bridgette.  You were cousins and looked completely identical, it would have been easy to pull a swap like that.”

“We should head back and inform your father,” Nino said as he came back from doing a perimeter sweep for bandits, “Plus the sooner we get out of this graveyard the better.”

“But what about all of these people?” Alya asked waving her hand around.

“We will come back and bury them properly when we have reinforcements,” Adrien said coolly, “I want to get you all out of here now before anything else happens.”

 

The ride back to the castle was deathly quiet, no one wanted to talk about what they had discovered and Marie could feel her body conceding to the exhaustion she had been feeling ever since they entered the woods.  All she wanted to do was go back to her room, soak in a nice hot bath and crawl into her bed, she needed time to process the fact that she had finally found out her identity and discovered a bloodbath in the same afternoon.  She glanced at Adrien and wondered how he was faring, as he had just discovered that the woman he was engaged to be married to was now a skeleton alone in the woods.


	16. The King and Queen Arrive

In the days after their gruesome discovery Marie, she couldn’t bring herself to use her old name just yet, remained in her room, she felt dead inside, like something was still missing, she had Tikki bring her meals and Alya assisted in the training of the noble women.  She had even refused to see Adrien the few times he had knocked on her door, she couldn’t bear to see his look of concern for her and the pity that she knew would be waiting for her when she finally emerged. 

After a week of not speaking to anyone bar Tikki, Marie woke to find Alya standing in front of her with a scowl on her face, “Alright, enough is enough.  I know you are upset but you need to get out of this room and be with more people than just Tikki,” she said with her hands on her hips like a scolding mother.

“Alya, I can’t-“ Marie started, but before she could continue Alya had ripped back her sheets and was actually pulling her from the bed, “Alya!” she cried but her friend ignored her and forced her to sit at her vanity while she and Tikki got her dressed.

As Alya was brushing Marie’s hair she continued talking, keeping her updated on everything that had happened in the past week, “Adrien took a contingent of guards with Nino and Plagg and they went and buried all those poor people who we found in the clearing we left the horses in.  It seemed a nice place for them to rest for eternity and perhaps we can open up the trail so we can go visit them from time to time so they aren’t lonely.  Oh King Gabriel sent word of what happened to the King and Queen of Rosemoore, I suppose that makes them your Aunt and Uncle doesn’t it?  Anyway they sent a messenger back saying that they will be arriving in 3 weeks to see you and to pay respects to their daughter.”

“They want to see me?” Marie asked refusing to look at Alya through the mirror.

“Well of course they do, you are family and if I remember correctly, the new heir to the throne of Rosemoore!”

Marie’s head shot up, “What?”

“Well Marinette was an only child and you are the next relative in line to inherit the throne, behind you is Felix your younger cousin by one year,” Alya explained.

“How do you know all of this?” Marie asked.

“Adrien told me this week, since I wasn’t holed up in my room,” Alya said firmly as she poked Marie in the shoulder roughly.

“Now let’s get you in this dress so you can get to breakfast.”

 

Marie was sitting at the table eating her breakfast alone, King Gabriel had sent his apologise for his absence as he had to prepare for the visiting royal family and had constant meetings on what to do about the bandits that were getting bolder and attacking larger villages close to the capital.

Adrien was nowhere to be seen and Marie wasn’t sure if she was happy or sad about this, but she didn’t have long to ponder this as he burst into the room panting as if he had been running for some time, “Marie?  You are actually here!” he said with a smile on his face.

“Yes, look Adrien, I am sorry about disappearing like that for so long but I-“ he cut in on her, “Don’t apologise, especially not to me.  You had a lot to deal with, between your memories coming back and finding what we did, I would have been worried if you hadn’t locked yourself away for a little bit.”

He sat down and grabbed an apple from the bowl in the centre of the table, “So have you heard what is happening?”

She nodded in return, “The King and Queen should be here in 3 weeks and you buried all those people we found.”

“How do you feel?” he asked before biting into the fruit.

“About what?” she asked.

He swallowed, “Learning who you are.”

“I don’t think it has truly sunk in yet, Alya tells me I am the new heir of Rosemoore but I don’t know how to feel about that.  I am happy here in Linburn and I don’t want to leave for a kingdom I don’t remember but I suppose I will have to won’t I?”

“Maybe it won’t be forever,” Adrien said cryptically before shaking his head and then stood up again, “I have to go, I have to help father get everything ready so I won’t be around a lot for the next few weeks but if you ever need me, just find one of the guards and they will get a message to me and I will find you ok?”  He walked around the table and stopped in front of her before bending down and kissing her head lightly.

 

In the weeks leading up to the royal visit, Marie had never seen so many people looking so busy, even her fighting classes had to be put on hold as most of her students had duties they had to attend to which left her to wander the castle alone as even Alya and Tikki had been dragged away with their work. 

She took to choosing a new book from the library each day and reading as much as she could or when she needed to burn off some energy she would change into her new training clothes that had been made for her and train with her wooden sword for hours.

 

The day that the King and Queen arrived Marie was sitting in one of the many courtyards reading a book from her library when she heard footsteps echoing towards her.  As she wondered who it could be a young man turned the corner, he had short blonde hair and green eyes that seemed to stare through you, she could see the crest of the royal family of Rosemoore embroidered on his tunic and he had sword attached to his belt.

“Bridgette!  I was so worried about-“ he stopped abruptly as he took another look at her.  “You!” he hissed before collecting himself quickly.  Marie could feel her entire body grow cold as he stared at her, she knew him from somewhere and her instincts told her that she should run away from him as soon as possible.

“I am sorry sir, but I do not know who you are and I must be going, excuse me,” she curtsied slightly before hurrying away from the strange man who continued to stare her down as she walked away. 

 

Adrien bowed to King Tom and Queen Sabine as they stood in front of him and his father in the throne room, their companions standing behind them, “Welcome your majesties, I hope your journey was an easy one,” King Gabriel said in greeting.

“Considering the circumstances that we are here for, it was easy enough,” King Tom said in a strained voice.

“Where is Bridgette?” Queen Sabine asked quietly.

“I believe she is in the courtyard reading,” Adrien replied, “I can go fetch her if you wish.”

“Thank you Prince Adrien, but I think perhaps we should discuss other matters first before we turn her life upside down again,” the Queen replied.

Adrien nodded in agreement before walking down the stairs to stand in front of the grieving parents, “I am truly sorry for what happened to Marinette,” he said as he held the Queen’s hands in his, “If there is ever anything I can do for either of you, just name it.”

“Thank you Prince Adrien, we appreciate your kind gesture,” the King replied, placing a large hand on his shoulder. 

Adrien saw his father moving to join them and smiled, “Shall we get started?”

It took hours to fully explain everything that had happened in the past year since Marinette had disappeared during her tour of the kingdom and travel to Linburn and Adrien felt exhausted just talking about it all.  He told them about Marie’s strength, kindness, bravery and resilience, he left out the part where they had started courting as he felt like that would be in poor taste. 

They had just called for a break so that they could all have something to eat before continuing with bringing everyone up to date when an explosion ripped through the room, knocking them all to the ground.  Adrien was quick to get back to his feet to survey the damage when he heard a man’s voice ring out, “KILL THEM ALL!”

 

After her encounter with the strange man in the courtyard, Marie had gone to her room and had changed into her training outfit, she needed to work off some of her anxiety of meeting her family for the first time and the sickly feeling she felt whenever she thought of that man. 

On her way to the training courtyard she ran into Alya, Nino, Tikki and Plagg, they had all finished their duties in preparation for the royal visit and had been on their way to find her to see if she wanted to catch up.  They agreed to join her in the training room and they spent the next few hours working on drills and Nino agreed to face Mare in a one on one fight so she could vent some pent up energy.

During the fight, an explosion rippled throughout the castle and they all heard screams of pain and panic coming from the main area of the castle.

“What in the world was that?” Nino cried as the ground shook underneath them.

“I don’t know but it came from where the throne room is!” Plagg shouted.

“Adrien,” Marie said her eyes widening before she took off across the garden, wooden training sword still in hand as she headed for where the explosion had come from.

“MARIE!  WAIT UP!”

She skidded to a halt in the hallway that led to the throne room, the others only moments behind her and they too stopped.  There was smoke and debris everywhere and bodies of guards lay on the ground unmoving, they could hear the clang of swords and shouting coming from the room up ahead.  The giant doors that used to stand proudly were completely blown apart and parts were strewn everywhere.

Marie crept to the now gaping hole in the wall and froze, there were dozens of bandits fighting with the guards that were still alive and the members of the royal families that were not too badly injured were fighting back.  She was frantically looking around the room for Adrien when she spotted two people near the back of the room that seemed familiar, the man was tall and wide while the woman was short and lithe but she did notice that they were both fighting bandits.

The woman looked up for just a moment and in that instant it felt like Marie’s whole world came crashing down.  As Marie stood frozen in place, Nino dashed into the room without a second thought and Plagg moved in to protect the girls from any surprise attacks.

“Marie?  Is it a memory?  Marie?  Marie!?!” she could hear Alya and Tikki calling to her but all she could do was stare at the woman who had continued fighting as if she hadn’t seen Marie.  A smile broke out onto her face as she felt a surge of power run through her body and she knew what she needed to do.

She strode into the room, slowly building up speed as she saw the first bandit that was in her way, he turned and saw that she was a woman who was holding a wooden practice sword and laughed.  His laughter died quickly as she used the solid wooden blade to crash into his head knocking him clean out and without breaking her stride she bent down and picked up his blade and continued on to her next target.

She looked like a dancer on the stage as she spun gracefully never missing a step as she moved from bandit to bandit incapacitating them or knocking them out with ease, always moving closer to the couple she had seen earlier.  She spotted Adrien and his father fending off 6 bandits at once with the guard named Kim a few feet away struggling to take on another 6 by himself.  She shifted the direction she was headed and moved to help Kim, Adrien and Gabriel with their foes, surprising them with the ease in which she beat their adversaries.

“Marie?” she heard Adrien call as she moved past him, smiling still as she headed back towards the couple who were now fighting one of the largest men in the room.

She jumped over a body of a fallen bandit and landed in front of the woman, her back to her as she stood off against the menacing man who, when he saw who had been foolish enough to take him on, faltered for just a second.

“You,” he growled, “I’ve killed you already.”

“Sorry to disappoint but I am not that easy to kill,” the moment she heard his voice, she knew where she had met him before, he was the man who had hit her in the head all those months ago and had thrown her in the river to die.

“You might want to check that your victim is actually dead before letting them float away,” she goaded.

“Oh I will next time,” he said as he raised his sword.

“Too bad there won’t be a next time,” she said as she raised her sword to meet his and block the downwards stroke.  She let him try to push her back but as she had done during her first ever fight with Adrien, she twisted her blade and let him fall away from her before she raised her knee into his head and simultaneously used the flat of her sword to knock his sword out his hands.

In the time that it had taken for her to disarm the bandit boss, all the other fighters had finished their battles, all the bandits had been knocked out or injured but some of the guards didn’t stir from where they lay.  Marie was panting from the exertion of her battle as she saw her friends and King Gabriel move over to where she stood and the woman behind her spoke, “Who are you?”

Marie took a deep breath and turned slowly, tears in her eyes as she face the King and Queen of Rosemoore, “Hello mama, hello papa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me!!!!!!!


	17. My name is....

“Hello mama, hello papa,” she said still breathing heavily from the fight and holding back the tears that threatened to fall as she looked at her parents for the first time in almost a year.  She dropped the sword that she had taken from a bandit and raised the now empty hand out to her mother but stopped hesitantly. 

Before she knew what happened next, her mother Sabine let out a sob of relief and leapt towards her encasing her in a hug, her father Tom wiped away the tears that were falling as he joined his wife and daughter in the embrace.

She could hear someone crying behind her and a few gasps as the people around her had realised what had happened.  She wriggled a little trying to get out of the constricting grip that her parent’s had encased her in and after a minute of struggling they finally relented.

She turned around to face the others who had gathered around them, her mother refusing to let go of her hand and looked at each person.  Plagg and Tikki were both openly crying, Alya had latched onto Nino’s arm in excitement and Adrien, Adrien looked like he didn’t know what to feel, he kept jumping from excitement to confusion to anger to joy to worry and back to excitement again.

“Would someone care to explain what is happening here?” Gabriel said as he stood holding his arm from where it had been cut by a blade earlier.

“I should probably introduce myself,” she said, “Hello, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Crown Princess of Rosemoore.”

“Your memories have returned then?” Gabriel asked.

Marinette nodded, “Yes, your majesty, when I saw my mother fighting everything came rushing back, my life growing up in the castle, the tour of my kingdom, the attack that killed everyone in my party and everything that happened in between.”

“Who attacked you?” Tom asked as he moved to put his hand on her shoulder.

“The bandits that are sitting over there,” she said pointing with her free hand, “But they were not the ones that orchestrated the attack.” 

Her expression darkened as she glanced around the room, surveying the damage and saw that the guards who were mainly uninjured were rounding up all the attackers while others were clutching their wounds as the healers poured in.  She saw another figure slip into the room with all the confusion and her eyes widened as she recognized him as the blonde man from earlier that day who had confused and scared her.

She smiled as she gave her mother’s hand a light squeeze before calling out to him, “Felix!”

Her cousin raised his head at the sound of his name and froze as he saw her standing there surrounded by her family and friends.

“Bridgette?” he said slowly walking towards her.

“You know I am not Bridgette, Felix.  You recognized me the moment you saw me in the courtyard this morning.” She said not flinching at the look he gave her.

“Marinette?  I thought you had perished in that horrendous attack!”

“Oh stop acting Felix, I know it was you who arranged the attack on my carriage,” she demanded. 

“Marinette, how could you say such a thing?  Felix loves you!” Sabine cried, moving to stand in front of her daughter, “Perhaps your mind is still addled from everything that has happened.”

“Mama, have I ever lied to you?” Marinette asked.

“Well no, but maybe-“ Sabine started before she was cut off.

“He resents us.  He wanted to be King of Rosemoore but with Bridgette and I next in line for the throne that was never going to happen.”  She twisted her hand out of her mother’s grip as she moved to stand closer to her cousin, “You twisted Bridgette’s mind, using her affection towards you against her.  You convinced her that if I were to be involved in an accident and didn’t make it then she would become Queen and when you were old enough to marry you would become her King.”

“This is preposterous!  I forgot how your imagination could run wild with tales of fantasy and adventure but this has gone too far Marinette,” Felix said angrily. 

“Bridgette told me everything before she died,” Marinette said coolly, “She bragged about becoming the queen as she pulled a dagger on me while we were trapped in the carriage while all the soldiers were distracted by the bandits.  You told her that you loved her and that this was the only way you could be together, once she was Queen she could pass a rule that allowed cousins to marry each other.  You told her that she needed to kill me and get me out of the way or you could never be together.”

She took a breath before continuing, “What you didn’t tell her was that you had told the bandits to kill her as well.  You betrayed not only myself, my parents and our kingdom but you betrayed the woman who loved you, not matter how foolish that love was.  Tell me Felix, how did you plan on killing my parents?  You are old enough to rule now even if you aren’t old enough to marry, you still needed them to be removed from power so that you could rule.  I mean they aren’t exactly going to fall over dead or stand down anytime soon are they?”

Felix looked around at the gathered crowd and saw that he didn’t have a single sympathetic soul, his face morphed into a snarl and he started laughing lowly, “Oh I have enough of the Lords in Rosemoore ready to back my claim to the throne, it would have been very easy to say that the King and Queen were too distraught from the loss of their daughter and heir along with the death of the next heir in line that they were no longer fit to rule.”

“We cared for you!” Tom cried, “When your parent’s died in the plague that swept our kingdom, we took you in and cared for you!”

Sabine put a hand on her husband’s shoulder and shook her head, “Felix I am so very disappointed in you and,” she stepped forward quickly and punched him directly in the face, dropping him to the ground in an instant, “If you ever come near my family every again, I will kill you,” she growled.

“Take him away and lock him in the dungeons,” Gabriel called to two of the guards who were hovering near the scene.

 

After all the confusion died down from what had happened, Marinette walked over to Adrien, who still hadn’t said a word.

“Adrien?”

He registered her voice and looked up at her with wide eyes, “Marie?  You’re Marinette?”

She laughed at him gently, placing her hand on his cheek, “Yes, Adrien, I’m Marinette.”

His face brightened with joy as all the confusion cleared and he said three words “I love you,” before grasping her face and kissing her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say is thank you for all the love I have been getting. I still have 3 more chapters to go and I can now promise all the angst is over and it is smooth sailing from here!


	18. The Fallout

Marinette was exhausted, she had spent the hours after the battle helping tend to the wounded, they had lost a dozen brave souls who were prepared to sacrifice themselves for their kingdom and at least twice that number were gravely injured.  It was late at night by the time the healers had been able to see everyone who had been injured, including King Gabriel who had refused to be seen to until everyone else had been healed, and by then Marinette was starving.  Gabriel had asked the kitchen to put something together so that they could all eat before retiring to bed and when the food came up they all sat in the destroyed throne room and ate in silence.

Once they had ate their fill they all filed away to their chambers to finally sleep off the exhaustion that they all felt.  Marinette didn’t even bother to change out of her clothes, only taking off the stiff upper layers of her training gear before flopping into her oversized bed and passing out.

 

The following day she found herself back in the dining room that she normally shared with Gabriel and Adrien, this time Tom and Sabine joined them and surprisingly, Nino, Alya and even Tikki and Plagg were there eating their fill.

“And then when she disarmed Adrien, the sword flew through the air and landed smack bang in front of King Gabriel!” Nino said trying to contain his laughter.

King Tom chuckled at that, “Well that doesn’t surprise me in the least!  Marinette is the most accomplished swordswoman in our kingdom, she learnt how to fight by the age of 5 and never looked back.  She is a Captain in our Royal Guard and commands one of our elite squads of warriors.”

“A lot of our elite fighters are actually woman,” Marinette explained, happy to be able to draw on her memories for the conversation, “What I have been trying to teach here, is common practice in our kingdom, ladies of noble birth are trained from a young age but every year we go to each village and scout for any talent from the commonfolk.  We find that allowing everyone the chance to prove their worth makes a lot of difference in their loyalty to the crown and they are more willing to rise up and protect their kingdom when they see people just like them ride past in gleaming armour.”

“That is a wonderful idea Marinette,” Adrien said with a smile, “Father, perhaps we could looking into something similar for Linburn, it would increase the numbers of our guard and give the people something to strive for.”

Gabriel nodded, “I think that is a good idea Adrien, I was already going to approve Marinette’s school of the noble women and this is the next logical step,” he agreed.

The chatter continued on jumping from topic to topic, recapping on everything that happened in the past year, from the tour that started it all to the ball where Adrien’s engagement was announced.

“You do realise something right?” Alya said with a sly look at Adrien.

“What?” Adrien asked confused.

“You are engaged to the Princess of Rosemoore,” she said trailing off in anticipation for him to make the connection. 

In an instant both Adrien and Marinette both turned red before Adrien continued the statement, “If I am engaged to the Princess of Rosemoore and Marinette is the princess, then that means……..” Adrien’s eyes widened before he stood up and ran out of the room, “I’ll be right back!”

He returned some time later, panting as he entered the room as if he had been running the entire time he was gone, “Adrien are you ok?” Marinette asked as he walked up to where she sat.

“I will be in a moment,” he replied cryptically before smiling at her, “I know that we have been technically engaged for most of our lives but I wanted to do this properly and actually hear you say what you want,” he bent down onto one knee in front of her and produced an old wooden box. 

As he opened it, Marinette saw the most beautiful golden ring with square rubies embedded in the intricate metalwork, “Marinette, I fell in love with you from the first moment I set eyes on you back at the river.  I have watched you overcome so many obstacles and challenges in the past few months and no matter what you have always come through stronger.  You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met and your strength gives me the strength to push through everything that life throws at me.  I couldn’t imagine a life where I wasn’t by your side and I hope that you feel the same way.  Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you do me the greatest honour anyone could do and become my wife?”

She could feel the tears streaming down her face as she nodded, “Yes Adrien Agreste, I will marry you!”  She held out her hand and allowed him to place the ring on her left hand, “It’s beautiful.”

 “This was my mother’s wedding ring.  I thought she would want you to wear it,” he explained before rising to kiss her.  The room then exploded with squeals of excitement and cheers of congratulations to the newly, now officially, engaged couple.

 

Marinette could feel the butterflies in her stomach as she sat in front of her vanity, watching Tikki and Alya brush her hair and pin it up in an elegant style.  She smiled as she thought back on the past six months, she had regained her memories, become engaged to the love of her life, she had successfully trained a dozen women into warriors and she had been able to stay in Linburn when her parent’s returned back to their home kingdom to do damage control from Felix’s attempted coup. 

She looked over to where her dress lay on her bed, the day had finally arrived where she was going to marry Adrien and she couldn’t be happier.  She stood still as her friends helped her get into each layer of clothing, tightening a strap here or tying a ribbon there and as they put the final touches on the outfit a knock came at the door.

“Come in!” Marinette called, as Sabine walked through. 

She raised her hands to her heart as she let out a cry, “Oh my darling, look at you!  You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen!”

Marinette smiled as she walked over and gave her mother a hug, “Thanks mama.”

Sabine wiped away her tears, “They are ready for you,” she said indicating to the growing crowd outside.

“Well then, we better not keep them waiting!” Marinette said as she walked through the doors trailed by the others.

 

Adrien was standing next to his father as he waited for Marinette to arrive, “She is coming, right father?” he asked nervously.

“Of course she is Adrien,” Gabriel replied, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “Your mother made me wait as well, I think it is something that all women do to their future husbands to remind them who is really in charge.”

“What do you mean?  I thought it was a partnership?”

“Oh my son, it may look like a partnership from the outside but every marriage is the same behind closed doors.  If you want a happy life and marriage, I can only give you one piece of advice.  Just say yes.”  Gabriel chuckled as he remembered the years he was married to Adrien’s mother; that woman was just as stubborn and headstrong as Marinette and he pitied Adrien during their first fight, he won’t know what hit him.

The music started abruptly as they saw Sabine and Alya moving down the long aisle, Adrien’s heart began to race as he saw Marinette emerge from the castle and step into the light.  Her dress sparkled in the sunlight as she slowly walked towards him, Tikki following her as she held the train of the dress from dragging on the ground.

Marinette smiled as she reached the point where Adrien stood, tears in his eyes as he held out his hand for her, “Are you ready for this?” she asked.

He gave a short laugh “Always.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I can't believe I only have one chapter left! (No you didn't miss a chapter, I have decided to cut this down to 19 instead of 20 as the one I removed was easily worked into the other two and honestly would have been me rambling for a thousand words and who wants that?
> 
> So the next chapter is the epilogue and that will wrap up this story completely, I am so excited as this is the first published multi chapter story I have finished (if you know of my other works Dance of the Ladybug was finished 2 months ago but my beta has been extremely busy and is still working on the last 4 chapters). 
> 
> So I will get back to the keyboard and finish the last chapter so that we can finish this amazing journey and I hope that I will see you all again in some of my other works (I have so many it isn't funny and I just discovered Voltron so there goes the rest of my soul!)
> 
> Marinette's wedding dress  
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/35/e9/f2/35e9f20cf2c33077eb06f833112e4beb.jpg
> 
> The rings  
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/fd/fa/be/fdfabecea82f6d77f983fdb4684d13f6.jpg


	19. Epilogue

Marinette smiled as she stood on the balcony, watching the sun rise over the hills that covered her kingdom, the morning air was fresh and she could hear the castle staff chatting away as they started their morning routines.  She smiled as she heard a rustle behind her and a pair of arms wrapped around her waist as her husband rested his head on her shoulder.

“Beautiful,” Adrien said, still half asleep.

“Yes it is,” she replied before hearing him chuckle.

“I suppose the view is as well but I meant you my love.”

Marinette blushed at the compliment, even after all this time, after 20 years of marriage, he still managed to surprise her every day and she relaxed into his embrace as they watched their kingdom come to life. 

 

A loud clatter of hooves broke the morning peace as a pair of riders raced through the courtyard, laughing and calling to each other.  The first to dismount was a tall young man with short brown hair and bright amber eyes, he was dressed in fine clothes and the crest of the royal guard was embroidered on his tunic.  His companion was a young woman with long black hair and bright green eyes that were alight with fury. 

“You cheated!” she called as she leapt off her horse and strode over to where he stood unconcerned.

“It’s not my fault that you can’t keep up with me,” he said with a smirk before ducking the swing she had aimed at his head, “Now now, is that any way for the Princess to behave?”

She shook in her frustration, trying to control her emotions, before she stopped shaking and lifted her head with a smirk of her own, “Your right, I am the Princess, which means that you have to listen to me and I don’t know if I want you as my personal bodyguard anymore.  Perhaps you would be better off guarding the twins,” she turned her body, crossing her arms in the process as she watched his reaction from the corner of her eye.

“What?  No!  You can’t!” he stammered, dropping to his knees as a panicked look appeared in his eye as he tried to reason with her, “Please anything but the twins!”

Her younger brothers, Louis and Hugo were 7 year old twins had made a reputation for driving their nannies and bodyguards insane with all the pranks they pulled.

Her smirk grew as she turned back him, “Well, I suppose I might reconsider keeping you, but…..”

“But what?  Please I will do anything you ask!”

“You have to tell my parent’s that we are courting each other.”  She saw the blood drain from his face as he heard her words.

“I don’t know who I am more afraid of, your parent’s or mine,” he said in a shaky voice.

She smiled, “My parent’s might be the King and Queen but I am more afraid of Aunt Alya’s temper,” she shuddered at the thought of his mother, before she placed a hand on his cheek, “We can do it together, Mathis.”

He rose to stand in front of her, “Together we can do anything,” he took the hand she had placed on his cheek and kissed it, “I love you Emma.”

“I love you too Mathis,” she said before realising they were out in the open, “We better get the horses sorted before breakfast.  We have a big day today.”

 

Marinette and Adrien watched as the young couple led their horses back to the stables, “So when do you think they will actually tell us?” she asked as she watched her daughter smile at something her companion had said.

“Oh I give it at least by the end of the day,” Adrien replied as he turned Marinette around so she was facing him, “If anything our family has going against us, it is the ability to make big announcements on important days.”

Marinette giggled as she remembered all the different times that had happened to her in the past, their engagement being announced during the ball for Adrien’s 20th year, her memories coming back to her on the day that the castle had been attacked, her telling Adrien that she was pregnant with their first child on the day that King Gabriel stepped down as ruler of Linburn for her and Adrien to take over. 

She looked at her handsome husband, it was still hard to think that he was King Adrien Agreste and that she was Queen Marinette Agreste of Linburn and that today they would be celebrating the 18th year of their eldest child, Princess Emma Agreste.  Though as of today she would be Crown Princess Emma Agreste and would be eligible to rule the kingdom if something ever happened to either of them.

“What time are your parent’s arriving again?” Adrien asked as he got dressed.

“They should be arriving in the next couple of hours,” she replied as she in turn took off her night clothes, “What?” she asked as she noticed Adrien staring at her.

“How did I ever get so lucky as to have such a beautiful wife and Queen?”

“I don’t know but you must have done something pretty amazing in a past life to get all this,” she said gesturing to herself before Adrien put both his hands on her face and kissed her passionately.  She giggled again, “If we don’t hurry up we will be late,” she admonished. 

“Then we will be late,” Adrien said as he lifted her up and carried her back to their bed.

Her life with Adrien may have had a rocky start but now she couldn’t be happier, everything was perfect now and nothing could go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Tears up while writing this last author's note*
> 
> I am going to miss you all so much! I am so glad that I got to go on this journey with you all and honestly it has been an emotional roller coaster and I don't want to get off!!!!
> 
> I loved hearing all your thoughts and ideas on where this story was going and I hope that I have done it the justice that it deserves. A thought did occur to me that the way I have written the epilogue has left it open for a sequel, prequel or anything really. I honestly could do a bunch of short stories about what happened when Marinette and Adrien would get up to when they played as children, what actually happened between Felix and Bridgette when they were planning the coup, the lives of all our favourite characters after the wedding, what happens to Emma and Mathis, how Nino and Adrien became friends, Tikki and Plagg's dates and so much more! 
> 
> Let me know if you would be interested in hearing about these stories or if you had some ideas for side stories you would like to know more on.
> 
> Until then, if you want to check out some of my other stories please do, I am always open to requests and collabs!

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT 10/12/2017 - I have now created a Patreon page and if you want to see more content before it is published here make sure to check it out. Since I cannot link directly here check out my tumblr account which links to it. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kaylee-schuyler


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